You Only Live Twice
by TheBookMuffin
Summary: Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. AU Revising... Previously named Rebel Girls
1. Chapter 1: A new beginning

**A/N:** _Hello, everyone!!! This is the first chapter of my story- the revised one. Hope you enjoy it and give me feedback._

_**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Naruto.

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter 1:**__** A new beginning**_

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"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."-Maria Robinson

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* * *

A black Mercedes pulled in the big parking lot of Konoha High School, leaving some of the students curious with who might be in it. They didn't have to wait too long to find out because as soon as the car stopped the door opened rather forcefully and a blond haired girl came out. Her baby blue eyes shone brightly to the sun, as she fixed her high pony tail.

"Move out of the way, Ino," came another voice inside the car. A foot shot out right after that and pushed the blonde out of the way, not so lightly. A girl with brown hair, tied in two Chinese buns, stepped out and stretched. Her brown eyes looked around her as she followed the blonde.

"Geez, Tenten, did you have to shove me with your foot," asked Ino as she tried to look at her behind. "Look, now I have your footprint on my butt."

Before the brunette could reply though, another voice cut in, "Don't even start, you two." A girl with blue-blackish hair hopped off, while trying to fix her over sized coat. Her unusual white eyes also looked around with curiosity, as she still struggled with her coat.

"Seriously, Hinata, why do you wear that…paper bag?" asked another girl that just came out of the car. If you thought Hinata's eyes were weird then this girl's hair is even more unusual. It was pink. Her green eyes were covered in sunglasses, which she took off to get a good look at their new school.

"I want to make a good first impression," countered the dark haired girl who finally managed to get the garment in place.

"Sakura's right, you know. Nobody wants to see you faint from overheat," said the last girl. Her dark blond hair was tied in four pigtails and her eyes were a strange tint of brown.

"See, even Temari agrees."

Said girl closed the door as soon as she got off the car. It sped of so quickly that it left tracks behind and almost crashed in another car that just came in.

"All I asked was if he had found himself a girlfriend," muttered Ino referring to the driver.

* * *

Not far away from the girls another car pulled off in one of the few free spots left. As soon as it halted a blond haired boy shot out of the door and sprawled on the ground, breathing fast.

"Whoever gave Sasuke-teme driving license has to get a life sentence," he muttered to no one in particular. After him, another four guys exited the car a lot more calmly than the first one.

A guy with a short black hair and deep black eyes spoke first, "Come on, dickless, it wasn't that bad. It's been worse."

"Are you kidding me, Sai? Wasn't that bad? Tell that to my mum when I end up in a hospital bed," shot back the blond boy as he stood up from the ground and dusted himself up. "AND I AM NOT DICKLESS!!!! My name is Naruto! Use it."

By now they had the attention of every student in the parking lot and the other three boys didn't like it at all.

"Hey, morons, be quiet. Or do you want another meeting with Tsunade?" hissed another boy with black hair, a little longer than Sai's. The same one that drove the car.

"Well aren't you brighter than the sunshine, Uchiha?" piped in a boy with brown hair and strangely enough he had the same white eyes as Hinata. Sasuke only regarded him with a glare that could set a building on fire.

"What a drag…Neji don't annoy Sasuke. Sasuke pull that stick out of your ass. Naruto quiet down. Sai don't use that word anymore; it's plain creepy." Shikamaru most of the time was the one to make peace between the other four, with his laid back attitude.

"When will this cousin of yours come, Neji?" asked Sai as he leaned on the car and pulled his cell phone out.

"Right about now," was his reply as soon as he saw a black Mercedes speeding out of the campus. Five girls came into a view and Neji wanted to smack his head against the hood of the car. Not only did he have to deal with her but also her friends who were, as his uncle described, worse that a natural disaster.

He lifted his hand rather awkwardly and signaled for her to come. As soon as the girls were near enough, she bowed down granting him respect. His friends either looked at him with raised brows or were trying to hide their laughter.

"Hinata, seriously, there is no need for you to do that. Straiten up." The girl looked up at him and smiled awkwardly while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The girls behind her looked at the girl rather strangely. And why wouldn't they? Hinata only bowed to her father and no one else. Seeing her doing it now was really awkward.

"I'm sorry for bothering you with this, Neji, but our transfer was really rushed," she explained before turning to her friends. "Those are my friends-Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Temari."

Each girl waved awkwardly, not being used to all this formal talk. Neji nodded to them but quickly turned his attention back to Hinata, "What I was wondering is why did you transfer here?"

He could see the way Hinata's shoulders tensed and her breath was cut off. It was for a second before she smiled softly and opened her mouth to answer. But she was interrupted.

"He doesn't know?" asked the platinum blond quietly, but apparently not enough.

"I don't know what?"

This time all of them tensed and gave Ino a scolding look. It was almost as if they were hiding something. Neji looked behind his back to his friends to see them looking suspiciously at the newly arrived girls.

"You don't know that… the school was really…disgusting." blurted out Tenten and looked at the other girls for support.

"Yeah, um…really disgusting…and her father thought it wasn't good enough for his daughter." finished Sakura, laughing nervously. Neji raised an eyebrow at their bad cover up but decided to let it go. But apparently Sasuke didn't.

"Then why are the four of you here?" he asked rudely causing the four girls to stiffen.

"Dude…" muttered Naruto while elbowing him in the ribs.

Sakura was ready to retort, Temari right behind her, but Hinata knew where to cut in, "We should go to the office to get our schedules."

* * *

The principal's assistant- Shizune was a rather nice woman even though she looked tired and worried. The girls only got to meet her since the principal had a 'very important work to do'. They learned that she was also the school nurse and a very close friend to the head mistress- Tsunade. How many things you can learn from asking a simple question like 'Can we have our schedules?'

So far the school seemed normal, like every other. Although, it was bigger than most. Shizune was nice enough to give the girls a map, just in case they got lost. And currently, they were trying to find the room for their first class, which was History. The girls were already a little late because half of the time Ino held the map upside down.

But finally, after wandering the halls for 10 minutes, Temari managed to find the room. She knocked once at the door and without waiting for an answer, opened it and walked in. She saw a tall man with beard who, strangely enough, had a cigarette in his mouth. He was in the middle of writing the name of the lesson when they had interrupted.

The man blinked a few times, turned away from the black board and towards them. Tenten handed him a note she got from the assistant. When the teacher read it his expression changed. He looked at each girl individually as if he was trying to read them. It wasn't long before he cleared his throat.

"You must be the new girls. Welcome to History class. I'm Asuma Sarutobi but just Asuma is fine." He looked around the room to check if there were enough seats before turning back to the newcomers. "Find yourselves seats and pay attention to the lesson."

Well, for a history teacher Asuma seemed cool and a bit young. He didn't try to make the lessons interesting but his size and the aura around him made the students listen carefully…or at least not make a sound.

Sakura managed to spot the blond haired guy from the parking lot as she settled at the back of the class with Temari. He waved at her but she brushed him off quickly. It would be better to settle down first and then maybe make some new friends.

Finding biology class was like a whole new adventure. Even though Konoha High had a lot of students most of them weren't that friendly with newcomers. But eventually, a boy named Idate was kind enough to give them directions before smiling widely at them, especially Hinata. Somehow Sakura had a feeling he wasn't as kind as he seemed.

Biology class was really something else. They were supposed to learn about the structure of the cells but instead, they were listening to the teacher's exaggerated stories about women. Sakura learned from Nej that his name was Jiraya, since the old man didn't even introduce himself to them.

And when Sakura though there can't be any weirder teachers then those two, third period came and the girls were introduced to Kakashi. He was the English teacher but looked nothing like it. Almost his whole face was covered with a mask, only leaving his right eye to the public. But that wasn't the weirdest thing about him. He actually came 20 minutes later with face buried in a porn book. Kakashi only waved at the new girls before giving some papers to a kid in front to pass down.

* * *

The cafeteria was even bigger than the gym in their previous school. Students went back and forth, looking either for a table or their friends. The food looked good too. Better than anything Sakura's mother ever tried to make.

The five girls settled on one of the bigger tables near the widow which provided a great view of the whole campus and beyond. As soon as they sat, Tenten bit on her hamburger while Ino made a face and poked her salad. Sometimes the blonde envied her friend for eating whatever she wanted without gaining weight or ruining her figure. Hinata looked around once more before she too settled down next to Sakura, who was eating almost as eagerly as Tenten. Temari soon joined them with her trey.

Everything seemed to pass okay for the day. All of them were at their best behavior which was really unbelievable and nobody seemed to case trouble. Well, this was about to change.

Clicking of heels could be heard nearing them but none of the girls paid attention until it stopped next to their table. Sakura stopped chewing and moved her eyes to the right only to see an exposed tummy and a belly button ring. She didn't need to look at the face of the owner to know that this was the queen bee of the school.

Despite that, she lifted her head to see a red haired girl with glasses glaring down at her. Her red eyes were narrowed in slots as she looked at the other girls. Behind her were her followers.

"Do you have a problem or something?" asked Temari. If someone wanted a fight, she would always be the first to jump in. Tenten shook her head, 'This should be fun.'

"Actually, yes I have a problem. Just because you are new around here doesn't excuse you from breaking the rules." The girls looked at her like she was an alien, showing that they didn't know what she was talking about. The redhead frowned, "This is the table where we sit."

The crowd behind her nodded and came forward as if trying to make their point without words. With their support, the girl seemed to become even smugger than before. That certainly didn't make Sakura happy.

"Excuse me but apparently you know who we are. How come we don't know who **you** are?"

The girl seemed taken aback by the girl's answer before her blood started to boil. Nobody talked to her like that and got away with it. She hit the table with her fist causing Hinata's drink to almost spill, "The name is Karin. Now if you would just move your asses away from our table, I'll forget about everything and won't make your lives miserable."

"No."

It was as if somebody was pulling Karin's nails one by one. Nobody has ever made her this angry before. Nobody has ever stood up to her. Those five rebels need to be squashed before others start to riot too.

But before she could say anything else another voice cut in, a far deeper one, "Karin."

It was only her name that Neji had spoken but it was like the girl was stricken by a lightning. Her face phased from a red angry one to a pleasant and smiley. She turned around to face the tall boy, who had made his way through the crowd.

"Is there any problem with my cousin?"

At first the redhead didn't realize what he was talking about. Her eyes shifted between the girls and Neji a few times. Then it hit her. That raven haired excuse of a girl was his relative.

She wanted to scream, stomp her foot on the floor, roll around, curse, cry. Anything! Just to let her anger out. Those girls were like a disease without a cure. Karin muttered a few excuses before leaving the cafeteria. Well, not without walking into a boy with white hair on her way out.

The boy stumbled a bit and looked after the fuming girl.

"I thought I smelled a cat fight," he muttered to himself before joining his friend.

* * *

Karin ended up eating on the rooftop of the school along with her 'dearest friends'. The girl stuffed French fries in her mouth while her eyes glared daggers at the nearest wall. None of the other girls dared to say anything to her right now in fear that she might just let her anger out n them.

"Cousin? Can you believe it?" she chanted while smashing her cup of diet coke. "That little girl wearing a sack has the same blood as Neji Hyuuga." Karin threw the smashed cup at the wall in frustration before continuing, "And that pink haired bitch, the way she talked to me is unacceptable."

The red head stood up suddenly and started pacing back and forth. Her friends just watched quietly, knowing that she was thinking of a plan.

"They need to be smashed," she muttered before turning to them. "Make sure their stay here is hell. For now, we are going to stay low because Neji looks after them. But when I come up with a plan and get an opening, they'll want to crawl back to Suna as soon as possible."

For Karin, this was a start of a war.

* * *

Today seemed like the fest of the weird teachers. And this one wasn't any different. Usually, you expect you P.E. teacher to wear gym clothes but not spandex. Doesn't this school have any rules about dressing at all? Well, seeing Gai wearing this was the answer Sakura wanted.

But the weirdness didn't stop there. A mini replica of the teacher jumped out of nowhere wearing the same green spandex and hugged the teacher, while crying and shouting something about youth. Later, the girls learned that the boy was called Lee.

The weirdness didn't stop there either because Lee decided to proclaim his undying love for Sakura seconds after he spotted her. Talk about moving fast. Thankfully or not, it depends on how you look at it, Gai made the students run 10 laps around the whole gym and Sakura could actually escape Lee's clutches.

Karin kept her distance through the whole class and the girls were thankful. But something about the way she and her crew looked at them made Sakura feel a bit uneasy.

At the end of the class, Gai reminded the members of the basketball crew about practice and the start of the season. It wasn't a surprise that Sasuke, Sai, Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru were in the team. They seemed to be rally popular here. But what surprised Sakura was that Sasuke was the ace of the team. Naruto looked more of the sporty type than him. Sasuke was more of a flower boy to her.

But apparently first impressions are most of the time false.

* * *

"I feel like barfing," wailed Ino as she sat on the bench in the locker room. It was true that Gai really was passionate about his job but the students didn't feel the same way, except Lee.

"Tell me about it. My legs turned into jelly," followed Temari while rubbing her sore feet.

"Whoever scheduled gym after lunch needs a serious beat up," added Tenten who was sprawled on a bench next to Hinata.

"I know someone else who needs a serious beat up," said another voice, new but painfully familiar. Sakura almost wanted to cringe at the high pitched sound of Karin's voice while Tenten looked at the ceiling as if prying.

The pink haired girl turned around to face the redhead, "You know. I agree. This person is just begging for it." She showed Karin a mirror right after that. The self proclaimed queen bee didn't seem pleased.

The redhead slapped the mirror away from her hand with a forced smile. "Don't get too cocky, sweetheart. I just wanted to tell you that what we started in the cafeteria isn't over." Her eyes averted to Hinata as she continued, "We'll finish this when big cousin Neji isn't around to save little princess."

Without sparing another glance at the girls caring turned around and left with two other companions. Ino shook her head at her back and slumped back on the bench.

"And it's only the first day."

* * *

Nobody mentioned about their last encounter with Karin. It's not like they didn't like Neji but he seemed so stiff and serious. He would probably go straight to the head mistress.

The fest of the weir teachers continued in Chemistry class where the girls met the most unusual teacher ever. And his unusualness wasn't a good one. While Asuma was just slightly weird because of his smoking habits, Jiraya was weird because of his pervert ness and Kakashi because of his appearance and tardiness, Orochimaru was weird because he was plain creepy.

What's so creepy you ask? Lest start with the fact that he was unusually pale. Sai was pale too but this was on a whole new level. He wore purple make up on his eyes which were a weird shade of yellow and brown. His tongue and speech made the girls associate him with a snake. The weirdest thing about him was that he had a really disturbing affection towards Sasuke. The way Orochimaru rolled his name out of his mouth made Sakura shiver. And apparently she wasn't the only one who had noticed that because Ino and Hinata seemed utterly scared.

As soon as the bell rang the girls gathered their stuff quickly and bolted out of the classroom.

Art class with Kurenai seemed to be more relaxing after Chemistry. She seemed to be the most normal teacher here even though she was a bit stern. Oh, and she was also pregnant. The woman had a hard time moving between the rows and managed to knock out a cup of dirty water on the floor. Later, Naruto explained that Asuma was the father of the child, while grinning and wiggling his brows suggestively. Sakura had the urge to hit him on the head but Sasuke beat her to it.

Psychology was another nerve-racking class the girls had to endure. The teacher, Ibiki, was a man who had difficulty walking into the room without knocking his head in the door-frame. He looked more like a wrestler than a teacher and when he asked for introduction of the newcomers, the girls felt like they were being interrogated.

* * *

After meeting with so many teachers, each with their own…specifics, no hope was left that the music teacher would be any different. Sakura could imagine it- he or she was probably an unmarried alcoholic with lots of cats or birds.

But she was in for a big surprise. The moment the girls entered the music cabinet they were greeted with…sun. That's what Temari thought when she first saw her teacher. His smile was almost as shining as the sunshine. His eyes were so blue that Ino thought she was lost in the ocean and his blonde hair-

Wait, back up. Blonde hair, big blue eyes, a fox-like grin. Somehow it seemed familiar.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" asked Tenten still gawking at the teacher.

"A hotter version of Naruto?" asked Ino. That got a playful glare from Temari.

"Maybe there is a tradition for students to copy their favorite teacher's look?" Hinata tried to reason. It seemed believable after what they say in P.E. with Gai and Lee. Sakura still got shivers at the thought of Lee.

As if on cue, Naruto turned up with Sasuke tagging along behind them. The other three were talking with that brown hired guy that helped him earlier-Idate. The conversation didn't look pleasant from their point of view.

"Are they okay?" asked Hinata with a worried face. Naruto waved it off immediately and pushed the inside the room. The dream teacher finally spotted them and grinned even wider.

"Oh, you must be the new students. I see you've met my son Naruto. Welcome to my class."

The girls gaped…and gaped…and gaped. Goodbye dream teacher and hello married man with a teenage child.

* * *

**A/N:** _This is it. I combined three chapters in one longer one!!! I'm pretty pleased with what came out. This is probably the longest chapter I've wrote._

_As you probably noticed, I changed a lot of things. I made Sakura and Sai not knowing each other and instead made Hinata and Neji cousins. This way it seemed more true to the story to me. Also, I added more Karin because I have plans for her later. Also I described the teachers because that way I wanted to show the girls' reflections on things._

_Almost nothing of the previous chapter is left and there will be other changes too since I want to connect the whole story from the beginning. There weren't a lot of the boys here but I want to take things slowly with their relationships. _

_I also am thinking of changing to name of the story but I still haven't thought enough about it. If you have any suggestions, share the, with me if you want. Thank you for the patience. __**R&R**_


	2. Chapter 2: Cruel Intentions

A/N: Here it is! The new chapter! Thanks, to those who reviewed and are patient with me and this story. I'm happy that you liked the changes.

**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Naruto_.

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter **__**2: Cruel Intentions**_

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Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. -**Napoleon Bonaparte**

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* * *

When the girls returned at their new house, they expected to get a good rest after the tiring day as the new kids. Their new home was located not near the outskirts of the town where the neighborhood was peaceful and friendly. Actually, most of the neighbors were elderly people who wanted to get away from the busy life.

The house itself was rather big but it was nothing near those mansions on TV. The front yard was small, with different things scattered around. The first storey consisted of a kitchen, living room as well as a separate dining room. The second floor had five bedrooms and a bathroom. The back yard was bigger, with a pool which was empty and not to mention dirty, and a pool house.

All in all, it was an ordinary house. The unusually thing about it though, was that right now there were five cars in front. Sakura frowned at the sight and turned to her friends with a questioning look. But they all seemed as confused as her.

Together they entered the house expecting a warm welcome. But they were greeted with nothing. For big brothers, Sasori and Deidara weren't really welcoming.

The girls left their shoes at the entrance and proceeded through the hallway. It was obvious that Ino's mother had decorated this house even before entering to actual house. The woman had been a designer all her life and didn't pass the opportunity to give this house a make over.

When the girls walked in the living room, they were almost sure that nobody was actually in the house and the cars belonged to the neighbors. That was until they heard voices coming from the back yard.

Sakura slid the glass doors open to reveal seven guys trying hard to move a mattress in the pool house, while a girl with dark blue hair sat on one of the chairs with a bored expression on her face. As soon as she spotted them, her expression changed from gloomy to happy and she called a name.

"Sasori!"

A red haired boy turned around to face the girl. She pointed to the newcomers with a smile making him avert his eyes to them. His emotionless face brightened at the sight of the five girls and he shoved a long haired blonde boy before releasing the mattress.

"Sakura!" he exclaimed as encircled her in a tight hug, unconsciously lifting her up since he was a lot taller than the girl. She squealed in surprise but returned the hug as eagerly.

Ino crossed her arms and looked away pouting, "Well, that's cold. What are we? Chopped liver?"

As soon as the word left her mouth she was too encircled in a bear hug. The blond boy that Sasori shoved had wrapped his arms around the girl and was muttering nothings like 'I missed you' and 'you've grown up, little sister'.

"Deidara, I'm out of breath," bit out Ino as she tried to put some space between them

"What are you doing?" butted in Temari, looking at the remaining guys who were struggling with the mattress. As in stuck by lighting Sasori released Hinata who he had hugged after Sakura, and went back to help them.

"We are moving our things in the pool house. Mom said so." explained Deidara before he joined them too.

The blue haired woman approached them with a soft smile and extended her hand to the nearest girl, Tenten and introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Konan. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

After the boys finished moving their things, Deidara explained that Ino's mom had come while they were in school and practically exiled Sasori and him in the pool house. They both lived here in Konoha ever since they turned eighteen, Deidara wanting independence and Sasori wanted to be away from his father.

Mrs. Yamanaka was also kind enough to redecorate their rooms. She was more like their older friend than a mother. With her fashion sense she always went shopping with them and used her husband's credit card. She probably used it today too.

Sasori introduced the girls to his friends who helped moving their belongings. First they met Pain, who was also Konan's boyfriend. He had a strange obsession about piercing because his whole face was covered in it. And he probably passed it do Konan because she had one to under her lower lip.

Another one of them had strange skin complexion and unusually sharp teeth. Despite that, he seemed cool and fun guy to be around. His name was Kisame and apparently he enjoyed bickering with another guy with white hair and purple eyes. He had a dirty mouth even for a guy and was rather unpleasant to have a conversation with.

But the last guy made the deepest impression on them. He was quiet and rarely talked unless it was necessary. But his appearance was what drew attention to himself. His long ebony hair was tied in a loose ponytail and his onyx eyes, even though expressionless, were more than breathtaking.

But the weird thing is the man looked a lot like Sasuke, only older. Sakura briefly wondered why so many people in Konoha looked alike. In the end it was all explained by Deidara that Itachi was Sasuke's older brother.

The guys stayed for dinner that night and the girls got to know them a bit more. The girls liked Konan a lot. She promised them to go out sometime, just them, and spend more quality time before everybody left.

* * *

Getting up early for school was always hard for Sakura. She was the only one who could actually hear her alarm clock, though. The rock music blasted right next to her head as she fought with the sheet tangled around her. It didn't end well for Sakura because seconds later she found herself sprawled on the floor. One point for evil sheets and zero for Sakura.

Unlike the pink haired girl, Ino needed to be woken up by someone because she never heard her alarm clock. And that someone most of the time was either Sakura or Ino's mom. But the blond girl was up and wide awake after a few pushes from Sakura.

Temari was always the hardest to wake up. It usually took Ino and Sakura lifting the mattress of her bed along with her to wake the blonde. It wasn't the best wake up call a friend can give but it sure worked. Temari almost always ended up chasing after the two girls.

Tenten was wide awake almost immediately after hearing something about breakfast. The girl surely had a great appetite for her size. As for Hinata, she was always up before everybody else and making breakfast.

But this time when Hinata came downstairs first, breakfast was almost ready. Deidara greeted her happily before turning around again and focusing on the food. It was weird to sit around and wait for breakfast.

The others joined soon, some of them still half asleep. It was nice to have breakfast together because it made everything feel like the old times.

* * *

Ino wasn't exactly thrilled when Sasori presented them their new car. It was a blue van he used to drive when he was a teenager, he had explained proudly. The vehicle looked like it hasn't been washed in ages and there were a few bumps on it.

Tenten and Temari seemed to care less while Ino turned into a drama queen and claimed she'd better walk. Hinata was a bit worried about driving such a big car while Sakura rummaged through the radio stations.

After ten minutes of Deidara trying to make Ino get into the car, they finally took off. As soon as they were out of sight Sakura turned up the volume of the music while Ino opened the window on the roof and poked her head out. Tenten followed her suit and both screamed as they felt the cold wind in their faces. Sakura laughed and poked her head out of the window, yelling nonsense with the other three girls.

A few cars honked at them and Temari resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the other blond girl. Didn't she complain about the car just a few minutes ago?

The fun didn't last long because a black car pulled off next to them on the traffic lights. The black tinted window went down and Sakura was face to face with an angry looking Neji. Her smile fell off and she withdrawed her head back in the car.

"Hinata, what the hell do you thing you're doing?" he asked completely ignoring the pink haired girl in between them.

"Driving?" answered the dark haired girl raising her eyebrows at the obvious answer.

The boy glared, "You know what I mean." His eyes shifted to the other two girls who just smiled sweetly.

Before Hinata could say anything more, Sakura pointed at the traffic light, "Look, it's green!" With an awkward smile she pushed the button for closing the window rapidly and instructed Hinata to go. The two girls on top waved and also withdrew in the car.

Neji was left speechless, gawking after the girls. A few years ago, Hinata wouldn't have even tried to answer him back and would just sit and listen through his lecture. But now, it was like he was looking at a whole other person.

Naruto chuckled from behind and poked his head between Neji and Sasuke, "They sure are a handful, aren't they?"

* * *

Sakura shoved some of her books in her locked before closing it loudly. What she didn't expect was Neji leaning on the next one, with arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring at her. She raised an eyebrow at his expression. Can he still be angry about what happened in the morning?

"What?" she asked.

The boy grunted but answered anyways, "I forbid such stunts as the ones you did today."

Sakura could only stare at him with a slightly open mouth. Her eyebrows furrowed at his statement. Even her father didn't order her around like that.

"Excuse me?" she asked making sure she heard right. Her ears were still ringing a bit.

Neji sighed, completely irritated, "My uncle told me to look after Hinata. And that's what I intend to do."

Sakura let out a dry laugh, "Please, Neji. Everybody can see right through you. If it wasn't for her father's order, you wouldn't even look at her."

Neji stayed silent. The girl in front of him was a lot different than the girls around her. Most of the other people would never dare to answer him back. But Sakura, she looked right in his eyes as she talked, keeping her chin up.

"And you don't even try to deny it," she said lowly, shaking her head. "You know, when I first met Hinata, you were already gone. But still, she was in you shadow. She felt like a prisoner," she paused, letting her words sink in his head. "Much like you, huh? You left because you felt that Hiashi was your cage. Do you really want to become her cage?"

Neji shook his head in denial, lips tightening into a firm line, "You know nothing."

Sakura let another dry laugh before turning around. Before leaving she turned her head back to him and shook her head, "You don't know anything either."

Neji watched as the girl joined her friends and slung a hand around Hinata's shoulder laughing about something Ino said. Somehow her words stung more than anything.

* * *

Jiraya still refused to teach the lessons in the textbook. Instead, he decided to advertise his latest porn book. Some of the guys seemed interested while others just slept through the whole class. The others being Shikamaru and Naruto.

Sasuke was listening to his I Pod and wasn't even trying to hide it and Sai kept doodling in his notebook. Ino was preoccupied with looking at herself in a small mirror and fixing her make up. Hinata was in dream world and Tenten was just waiting for lunch. Temari was glaring so intently at the teacher that it was a surprise he wasn't yet on fire.

As for Sakura, she was having a great time looking at an uncomfortable Neji. He kept stealing glances either at her or at Hinata. The pink haired girl knew that her words hit a nerve and that's exactly what she wanted. The guy certainly needed a reality check and Sakura was more than happy to help.

Kakashi came even later today- five minutes before the class ended. He could only laugh nervously while giving some lame excuse about his tardiness. Only an idiot would believe that he took the longer route to the school because a black cat crossed his path. But he didn't forget to give them a whole load of homework to do.

At lunch the girls sat with Neji and co. as he requested. Hinata seemed taken aback when he raised his hand to call them. As soon as they sat down, Sakura gave him a knowing smile but didn't say anything. Karin had been already there when the girls got there. She was sitting at 'her' table and didn't even try to hide her displeasure when they sat with the boys.

Half way through lunch Idate came in the cafeteria and sat down with some kids. On his way he didn't pass the opportunity to wave and smile at the girls. This didn't please any of the guys.

"How do you know him?" asked Sai. He didn't speak a lot, at least not when the girls were around. It was probably because last time he opened his mouth he shot an insult to Sakura. Let's just say she made sure he doesn't dare to do it again.

"He helped us on our way to biology," answered Ino. "He seems pretty nice," finished the blond as she looked behind her shoulder at the brunette.

"Key word here is _seems_," muttered Naruto and dug into his lunch again.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sakura, the curiosity getting the better of her.

"He means that if he is nice to you then he doesn't mean good," cut in Sasuke who just entered the cafeteria after going out for a cigarette. Sakura could smell the tobacco on his clothes and hair and it almost made her gag. That smell always brought back bad memories. When he settled next to her she scooted as far away as possible. He only regarded her with a strange look before brushing her off.

"You guys have a problem with him don't you?" asked the pink haired girl, remembering what she saw yesterday. "I saw you talking yesterday. It didn't look pleasant."

"It's none of your business but yes, we aren't on good terms."

The rude answer was enough to tell Sakura not to push the matter further. She continued eating her lunch but the feeling of Karin's glare threatened to set hr on fire. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had felt it.

"Okay, what's her problem?" blurted out Temari, the one with the hot temper along with Sakura. Shikamaru let out a tired, or rather annoyed, sigh. Neji knew what's coming.

"What's her problem?" he drawled lazily. "Well, let's see. You humiliated her in front of the whole school on you first day here and made her eat on the roof in the cold weather. Really, what could it be?" That's Shikamaru for you alright. If you look for a sarcastic comment to ruin you mood, you're looking at the right person.

"Oh, it bites," laughed Tenten but it only earned her a glare from Temari.

"Okay, the tension here is too much for me," declared Ino and stood up from her chair, taking her trey with her. "I'll go to the bathroom to fix my hair and I'll meet you in class, okay?"

They watched her walk away until she disappeared behind the double doors. The tension really was obvious and Tenten's comment didn't help the situation.

"I don't know why we even sat here. It's not like we even like each other."

* * *

Karin couldn't stand to look at them without wanting to tear them apart. For every move they made, she wanted to scream. The way the walked like they owned the world made her gag. Their mere existence ticked off Karin so much that she almost dug a hole on the table with her finger nail.

They needed to be squashed like the bugs they were. And she wanted to make it slow and agonizing. She wanted them to crawl back to Suna with teary and scared faces. Because no one talked to her the way they did and got away with it.

She barely slept last night, thinking of way to make their lives hell. She worked hard for the position she had now while those girls walked into her life and stomped on everything. Karin had waited since junior year to sit where they sat now. And they didn't even break a sweat. It was simply unacceptable.

She just knew there was something fishy about them five. They always kept to themselves and tried their hardest not to get noticed. Neji always had his eye on hi little cousin which was strange since he usually didn't care about anyone. He also made it difficult for Karin to make any move on them and it just added to her frustration.

She wanted to know their secret desperately. And just like that an Idea popped in her head. An idea that didn't involve Neji's sharp eyes or any contact with them at all. Karin almost wanted to laugh manically but resisted. It would be bad for her image.

And she almost burst out with delight when she saw the platinum blond leaving the cafeteria alone. Her mind worked so many scenarios of what's going to happen. Neji looked after his cousin but he could care less about the others.

She pulled the nearest girl to her and whispered, "Follow the Blondie. You know what to do."

The girl nodded and gathered two made before going out of the cafeteria, trying not to be noticed. Karin smirked as she watched at the oblivious girls. Idiots.

She looked at her phone to check the time. Perfect, five minutes until the end of lunch. It was time for her part of the plan.

* * *

Ino hummed quietly as she fixed her ponytail. The bathroom was empty since it was almost time for class. But that way was far better. Now she had the mirror all for herself.

She was so caught up in the melody she was humming that she didn't hear footsteps coming her way. It wan until someone tapped her shoulder that she realized she had company. The blond girl raised her eyebrow at the tree girls that now cornered her. Somehow, she didn't think they were here to fix their appearance.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a flat voice. The blonde was sure she had seen them somewhere.

"Yes, actually, you can," answered one of the girls and started filling the sink with water. "We are here to deliver a message from Karin."

Now it clicked in Ino's mind where she had seen those girls. They were part of Karin's crew. That fact itself was disturbing but it started to get scary when the girl grabbed her hair and shoved her face in the already full sink. Ino fought for air at least thirty seconds before she was pulled out.

"Where are your friends now, Blondie?" asked the other girl. Ino didn't manage to say anything because she was shoved again in the water. Another thirty seconds were spent fighting for air and she was brought back up again.

"You're luck it isn't the toilet," laughed the third girl. But Ino could barely hear what they were saying. Her head was pounding and she started seeing black spots. She didn't manage to catch her breath this time and was shoved back in the water.

The three girls continued doing this five or six times, before Ino was released. She expected to hit the floor but instead, she found herself wrapped in a pair of small but warm arms. She caught sight of a dark blue strand and immediately knew it was Hinata who held her. In the background, the blond girl could hear Tenten and Sakura screaming. She could also hear Shikamaru's voice telling Sai and Naruto to follow the girls.

Ino coughed a few times and leaned on Hinata, trying to regain her normal breathing. She knew she could always count on her friends.

* * *

Karin put her plan into action as soon as she saw the girls leaving. She walked out of the cafeteria swaying her hips. It never hurt to get some boys staring after her. That's the way she kept her popularity up.

Before turning up in front of Shizune, the girl made sure she had a presentable appearance. The secretary seemed a bit surprised to see her.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"I need to see Tsunade-sama. I have to report something."

"I'm sorry but she is not here right now."

Karin already knew that was going to be her answer. She prayed that was going to be her answer. Tsunade always went out for a drink during lunch with Jiraya, none the less.

"I'll wait for her in the office then, "answered the redhead and Shizune was about to object. Karin beat her on it, "It's urgent and I can't tell you."

The secretary seemed taken aback as she watched the redhead close the door of Tsunade's office behind her.

To say the principal's office was messy was an understatement. Papers were scattered practically everywhere and an empty sake bottle rolled around. Karin stepped over the papers in a hurry and went behind the desk. She looked through every drawer in search of the girls' records. She only found letters of complaints and from several banks.

Her red eyes caught sight of a shelf with three drawers in one of the corners. She opened the first and almost screamed in delight at her discovery. The records of every student in the school were ordered alphabetically. Karin scanned through them but didn't find a thing. Their names weren't there at all.

She looked in the lower drawer but there were just some pictures of Tsunade with a whit haired man who Karin believed wasn't Jiraya. When Karin tried to open the last drawer, she found out it was locked. The redhead mentally cursed.

She scanned trough the room for some keys and preyed Tsunade hadn't taken them with her. Karin even looked under the sheets of paper under the desk but there wasn't any sigh of a key and the time was running out.

She was about the give up and get out from under the desk, when she hit her head in it. She hissed in pain and rubbed her sore spot. A secret drawer sprang out and Karin was almost sure this was the place when Tsunade hid her sake when inspectors came. To her delight though, she fond the object she was looking for.

The girl quickly unlocked the drawer and fell upon some records, but somehow different. It was certainly what she was looking for. Unfortunately, he time was almost over. She could hear Tsunade talking to Shizune just outside the office. The redhead quickly took some photos of the papers with her phone before putting everything back to its place and settled on the chair in front of the desk.

Tsunade entered seconds after and Karin stood u to greet her with a boy. The principal only nodded in return as she sat behind her desk, put her elbows on it and laced her fingers in front of her mouth, "What's so important that you couldn't tell Shizune?'

Karin froze. Minutes ago she found her plan flawless but now she could clearly see the hole. She racked her brain to think up and excuse.

"I…um…saw…um," she started sweating under Tsunade's burning gaze and it didn't help her think of anything.

"Karin, if you forgot about it then it mustn't have been that important."

She laughed nervously and suddenly a though finally came to her, "I saw Suigetsu drawing with sprays on one of the walls behind the schools."

Tsunade seemed to have bought it because her infamous vein popped out on her forehead. She pressed a button on her phone, "Shizune I want Suigetsu Hōzuki in my office as soon as possible." After she heard a confirmation from Shizune, the principal turned back to Karin, "Thank you for your cooperation."

Karin almost smiled on her way back to class. Suigetsu was going to get in trouble for sure. And he didn't even do anything this time. That's what he gets for dumping his trey on her last week. But what was better- she had everything she needed to know about those girls. The face that only their records were locked made Karin believe that there relay was something fishy around them.

It was only a matter of time she found out. And then she would squash them.

* * *

**A/N:** _Another chapter done! Most of you will think that this is a completely different from the previous story. And they are partly true. It is the same story told in a whole different was. The same concept but different style. I know I focused on Karin a lot in this chapter but she is a crucial part of the story. And don't worry about Sakura and Neji, they seem to hate each other but Neji needs to get a reality check. Sasuke has bad habits that remind Sakura about something bad. I'm sure those who had read the previous version know what it is._

_Tell me what you think about it. And also it you're curious about how their house looks like I have pictures I used as a model. Tell me and I'll post them in my bio or send them to you._


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets and Truce

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* * *

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**A/N:**

_Hey, I'm here with the new chapter! As you can see I changed the name and the rating of this story. I have figured out what I want to do with this story and I hope you will like it! Also, SCHOOL'S STARTING AGAIN!!!!!NOOOOOO!!!!_

_Thanks to all those people who reviewed! This chapter is dedicated to all of you._

_**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter 3**__**: Secrets and Truce**_

**-**

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"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."-James Dean

**-**

**-**

* * *

After Karin managed to get out of Tsunade's office, she decided to just skip the rest of the day. The girls had far more important things to do and her dad would excuse her as soon as he sees her puppy eyes. The redhead could barely hide her excitement. She just knew there was something fishy about those girls but this could turn out to be bigger than she expected.

When she got back home her mom was surprised. Karin was ready for that reaction and quickly excused herself to her room, faking a massive headache. Before disappearing out of the view, she warned her mom not to disturb her. Karin couldn't' risk her stumbling into the room while she was doing her research.

She locked the door behind her just to be safe. With almost trembling hands, she read through every document she had taken picture of. And with every new one her eyes could only widen, her breathing increasing. The things she read went from bad to worse. At last it dawned to Karin that those weren't normal records of students. Those were stories written by someone.

But the redhead could care less who wrote them or why. Those documents were going to be really helpful for her. She wondered how much of those things did precious cousin Neji and his friends know.

* * *

To say that Temari was furious when she found out that Karin had left before she could get a hold of her, was an understatement. Naruto and Sasuke had caught the other girls before they could make it out of the school. But when Temari was ready to punch the hell out of them, Neji just had to stop her and ruin everything, claiming that they'll be left in Tsunade's hands to handle. For the girl, it was a cowardly way to deal with the situation but she didn't have the nerves to argue with him. Instead, she focused on getting Ino back to her feet. She was just as furious, if not even more.

So the next day, when Temari finally saw the red haired queen bee all the pen up anger had to be released. She was so ready to give Karin a piece of her mind-a very big one.

Without hesitation, she stomped to where the girl was taking her books out of the locker and slammed the little metal door shut, almost hitting her hand. The redhead jumped with a scream, dropping her books to the ground. A few people looked at them weirdly but when Temari shot them a glare, they continued their own way.

Karin had an outraged look on her face as she spoke, "If it isn't Miss Anger Issues herself? What do you think you're doing?"

Temari slammed her hand against the locker to emphasize her irritation, "What am I doing? I'm making you pay for what your bitches did to Ino." The blonde raised her fist and took a hold of the girl's shirt with her other hand, ready to strike her square in the face. But Karin raised one finger to stop her, a smug smile creeping.

"If you so much as touch my face or any other part of my body, you will be out of this school with the speed of light, along with your little friends. My dad has invested a lot of money in here." The redhead took a hold of Temari's hand on her shirt and pried it off her shirt, "Even little cousin Neji won't be able to help then."

Temari snorted, "Your daddy doesn't scare me. I'm sure Mr. Hyuuga won't be very happy if he found out what happened to Ino, not to mention Mrs. Yamanaka." Her expression changed from mock smile to a serious one as she pushed Karin roughly to the lockers. "Your daddy won't help you here. But don't worry; this will be between me and you. Let's see how you're going to deal with us without daddy."

With that, Temari gave one final shove to Karin before walking off. The redhead sighed and straightened her shirt. Normally she would have been furious by now, but she could only laugh slightly at the retreating figure.

"If you only knew…"

* * *

School day went almost uneventful with the exception of Ino trying to jump Karin in the cafeteria. Thankfully Sai was able to restrain her and drag her out. Sakura was able to calm her down by promising her to go shopping after school.

So here they were, at the mall with an overly excited platinum blonde girl on the loose.

"Check it out girls!" exclaimed Ino as she came out of the dressing room with a pair of tight pitting jeans that were cut way too low. She spun around to give the girls a full view and then raised her eyebrows in expectation, "Well? What do you think?"

There was a brief silence among the girls before Temari spoke up, "I can see your crack, Ino."

Tenten and Sakura snickered behind the rack of clothes they were looking through. Ino scowled at the blunt answer of her friend and turned to Sakura who elbowed the still snickering Tenten. "Sakura, what do you think?"

Said girl giggled a bit as she went to the next rack of clothes, "Actually, I was about to say the same thing."

Ino groaned in irritation and spun around back into the cabin. Tenten shook her head at her childish behavior but they were all used to it. The platinum blonde would always pick the most extravagant clothes.

Ino came out of the cabin with the jeans in her hands and put it back to its place, giving one last longing look before turning to her friends, "You know, you're no fun. I thought we would enjoy this spree but you critic everything I choose. It doesn't make me feel any better."

Tenten rolled her eyes at the girl. If there was a drama queen among them, it sure was Ino. With a sigh, the brown haired girl spoke up in a wary voice, "Okay Ino, what's going to make you feel better?"

All the girls dreaded her answer, knowing that the blonde will come up with some kind of a weird idea. And Ino did just that.

With a wide smile she motioned for the girls to come closer, "I have this crazy idea."

"No kidding "interrupted Sakura but apologized immediately after getting an icy glare from Ino.

"As I was saying…" she continued, "How about each of us buys clothes for the rest. And then we'll have to wear the outfits to school."

"No!" yelled Tenten startling some people around. She laughed nervously and gave a silent apology before turning back and giving Ino a death glare, "Like hell I'm going to wear something you choose. I'd rather shoot myself."

For Tenten, wearing Ino's clothes was a big fat no. They were practically like North and South Pole. In her whole life Tenten had never borrowed even one piece of clothing from her blonde friend, unlike Sakura and Temari who always traded.

But it was going to change because with the puppy eyes Ino was giving her, the brunette was going to give in. She looked at the remaining girls-Temari and Sakura seemed okay but Hinata seemed hesitant. The only thing the small girl had bought was another huge coat. If they were able to choose something for her, Hinata would have to wear it.

Well, since Tenten was such a good friend and Hinata needed a boost.

"Fine, fine."

Ino squealed in excitement and dashed deep into the shop in search of clothes for her friends. Sakura shook her head at the blonde as she continued looking through the clothes. From the corner of her eye she caught something moving. She turned her head slightly to the side to take a good look. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the brown haired boy from school again. What was his name again? Idate? Sakura wondered briefly why he was always everywhere they went. Maybe he was a stalker.

"Great…" she muttered to herself and went deeper into the shop where she was out of sight.

* * *

The whole day was spent with Ino dragging the girls around. Sakura caught sight of Idate a few more times and it started to get a little disturbing. But the pink haired girl decided not to bother her friends with that. The guy probably had a crush on one of them. She was sure it would fade away with time.

Instead, Sakura focused on Tenten who was pointing at something that looked like tattoo atelier. At the sight of it Ino jumped with excitement and encouraged the other girls to come.

"Come on, we are here without and supervision- parents away and no Neji. Fate wants us to do this!"

Temari and Sakura didn't need a lot of encouragement but Hinata was hesitant, "No, girls, I can't. If Neji finds out…"

"He won't," interrupted Sakura, "except if he sees you naked which would be disturbing and not to mention gross."

Behind her, Ino nodded with a scrunched face, "Yeah, that's a lot of gross right there."

Hinata sighed loudly and looked at the atelier again. Something at the back of her mind was nagging her but she decided not to pay attention to it. She just went with the flow.

And after hours spent in the atelier, the girls finally came out giggling and showing each other their new tattoos. For Sakura and Ino this wasn't the first time but Hinata freaked out because her skin got red.

But as people say, all good things come to an end. As soon as they got out, their expressions turned from happy and smiley to surprised and nervous. In front of them stood a very irritated Neji with the other guys right behind him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his eyebrows at Tenten who had her tummy exposed and her jeans lowered, exposing her tattoo. She pulled her shirt down immediately and glared daggers at him. The boy ignored her and looked back at Hinata who was trying to hide from his burning gaze behind Sakura.

"I let you go shopping alone and the next thing I know is you doing this!"

Ino looked around her with suspicious eyes, "Does everybody here know each other?"

Shikamaru poked his head from behind Neji's shoulder and looked at her with a bored expression, "It's a small town."

Right now Sakura felt like they were being scolded by her father. And seeing Neji act like one was simply hilarious. The girl tried hard to contain her laughter. Behind her, though, Hinata didn't find the situation funny at all. So the pink haired girl decided to help.

"Oh, lighten up, grandpa," she said as she pushed his shoulder lightly, "It's not like we got drunk and had an orgy."

Neji glared at her with such burning hate that Sakura could turn into ashes. It was official- Neji Hyuuga despised Sakura Haruno.

"Not a good example," she muttered to herself.

The boy ignored her and looked at his cousin with knowing eyes, "Hinata, I want to talk to you alone."

Said girl seemed do nervous that she was shaking a bit. The rest looked at her as if asking if they should leave. Hinata gave them a small smile that she hoped was reassuring. But unfortunately, it wasn't.

The girls left with the rest of the boys to the food court. Neji and Hinata were left alone as he wished. The boy stayed silent for a while, just looking at his cousin but she refused to meet his gaze.

"Where is it?" he asked. Hinata knew he referred to the tattoo. Wordlessly, she turned around and lifted her hair, exposing a small butterfly on the back of the neck before turning back to him.

The boy sighed loudly, "What do you do these stuff? Do those girls make you?"

She shook her head for no but still didn't look up from the ground.

"Then why?" ha asked.

Hinata stayed silent for a while. There were so many reasons why she was doing this. She was a teenager and that would be normal, but not from a member of the Hyuuga clan. Because it was fun, was another pretty simple explanation. But not for a member of the Hyuuga clan.

"Because I am tired of being who the clan wants me to be," She answered finally, her voice shaking, "Because I want to be normal. Because I want to be free."

For the first time today she looked at him in the eye. And even though her eyes were teary, her gaze was strong and determined. But her shaky voice betrayed her as she spoke again, "Don't you know the feeling all too well?"

It was Neji's turn to stay silent. But unlike Hinata, he held her gaze. The way she spoke reminded him of his past self. When he left for a new life away from all the stress and pressure. He knew how she felt all too well. And maybe he was too hard on her and didn't realize it because he was trying to keep her safe as his uncle asked for an unknown reason. But he also knew how much it hurts when reality hits you again.

"You can't be free as long as you carry your last name."

The girl shook her head and looked aside to where the girls sat, "You are wrong," she said before she smiled softly, "As long as I'm with them, I'll be free." Hinata turned back to lok at him and reach to touch his shoulder, "They look at this world from a different angle. You just have to give them a chance and you'll understand what I mean."

Neji looked at her hand on his shoulder and then at the girls who were chatting with his friends. They really seemed to give off this carefree aura that drew people to them.

He looked back at his cousin's almost excited teary eyes. It's been long since he has seen her like this.

"Okay then," he said with a sigh. Hinata's eyes instantly brightened and she hugged him with a girlish squeal. For a moment, Neji didn't know how to act. He wasn't used to this kind of affection before, so he just patted her head awkwardly.

Suddenly, he felt like he had to say something sterner to her because the situation was way too weird for him. It was like his defense mechanism when he showed a little bit of softness.

"But that doesn't mean I'll let you do whatever you want," he muttered, "And make sure nobody knows about that tattoo which will be your first and last by the way."

Hinata could just laugh and nod obediently.

* * *

Sakura nervously chewed on her cheeseburger as she watched the conversation between Neji and Hinata. How she wanted to know what they were talking about; if he was upsetting her friend. But the looks of it he was doing just that.

Sakura's blood boiled at the thought of it. Since his constant appearance in her life, Hinata had changed back to the insecure and quiet girl she used to be once. And that wasn't making Sakura happy at all.

She just wanted to walk up to them and scream at the boy; to punch him back to his sense. For Sakura, it wasn't a problem to punch him but she was sure Hinata wasn't going to feel better.

The thoughts regarding Hinata feelings disappeared immediately when she saw Hinata's teary eyes. All the common sense left Sakura's head and she jumped off the chair she was sitting on. She was ready to stomp there and give Neji a piece of her mind. But a hand on her wrist prevented her of doing so. The pink haired girl was ready to yell at whoever the person was. But she didn't expect it to be Sasuke.

Before she could say anything he spoke up with a low voice, "Sit back down and stay put."

Sakura glared at him and refused to fulfill his order. What was she? A dog?

"No, he is upsetting her!"

Sasuke sighed heavily and got up from his seat, an annoyed look on his face. He stood right in front of her. Sakura had to look up to meet his eyes. But what freaked out was that he reached and grabbed her face. Sakura's eyes widened a bit and her heart started beating fast, pumping blood to her face. Se was almost sure he was going to lean down and kiss her.

But that wasn't the case. Instead of lowering his head, his eyes averted above her head. His hands moved it to the side he was looking so she could see Hinata hugging Neji tightly and him patting her head.

Her eyes softened at the sight and her tense body loosened.

"See," he said, finally releasing her head, "Things aren't always what they seem. He cares for her more than he shows."

Sakura gave a soft smile as she watched Hinata laugh happily and pulling Neji to where they sat. Maybe Sasuke had a point. Maybe she had to give him the boy a chance to prove himself. If Hinata believed and relied on him so much, then maybe he was a little human inside.

As she settled back down she looked at Sasuke eating beside her. At first he didn't make any impression to her; until now. His words ironically referred to himself, too. The girl thought he was this cold rich jerk; just like Neji. But somehow she knew he was a softie deep inside. And that's what made him so appealing to her; and the rest of the female population of the school. But she wouldn't let herself fall into his traps. Traps that he wasn't aware of probably.

But still she wouldn't open her heart…for his own well being.

* * *

When Hinata and Neji finally joined the rest of the group the atmosphere got even more awkward than it was. Neji settled down on a chair opposite of Sakura and cleared his throat but didn't say anything. The tension was building every minute of silence.

Neji looked at Hinata at his side and she looked at him with eager eyes. As emotionless and proud as he could be the look she gave him was turning him into jelly inside. He cringed and looked back at the pink haired girl who had a raise eyebrow in confusion.

The boy sighed in annoyance. He could feel the weird stares the guys were giving him and it didn't help him at all. He was about to hurt his pride and it was all because of his cousin. With on jerk he extended his hand in front of the girl but still didn't utter a word.

Sakura seemed even more confused now. She looked at his hand, then at the girls who were equality lost and then back at Neji. But still he refused to say something. Behind him Hinata urged her to shake it by gestures which made her look a bit like a lunatic.

Then it dawned Sakura what was he doing. Neji was basically asking for truce. Suddenly, she had the urged to smile because she realized what Sasuke meant before. Despite his pride, he was doing this for Hinata.

With a small smirk she shook his hand. Maybe this was the start of a beautiful friendship between all of them.

* * *

The next day when Naruto went to school he didn't expect anything interesting happening. He met up with Sasuke as usual and waited for him as he smoked a cigarette before school, babbling about the latest thing he did wit his dad. When they met up with the rest of the guys, Neji was looking for Hinata.

On the way to his locker he spotted her behind hers. Remembering that Neji was looking for her, he completely forgot about where he was going and called her name, "Hinata!"

Said girl poked her head from behind the locker door at the mention of her name. She saw the blonde boy waving and coming her way. Her first reaction was to panic. Bad day to pick Ino's choice of clothes to wear. It was embarrassing enough that a few students stared at her on her way here but this is too much.

"Hey," the boy greeted as he reached her, "I was looking for you."

Hinata moved the locker door closer to her in an attempt to hide and gave a fake smile, "Really?"

"Yeah, actually it's Neji who's looking for you but since I saw you first…" The boy dug in his backpack and pulled out a flyer, "Here, the basketball mach is this Friday. He wanted to invite you guys."

Hinata bended her body forward, close to the locker, and reached to take the orange piece of paper from his hands. She was praying that he would leave after that. But unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side.

The bell rang through the school, signaling the start of the first period. And that officially triggered Hinata to hysterics. How she wished her coat was here. She could cry for it right then and there.

"Oh, class is starting," said Naruto as he looked around seeing most of the students hurrying to their rooms. "I'll walk with you to History."

With that he pulled her from behind the door. And then froze. Eyes widened. Jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Just yesterday she was wearing something that resembled paper bag and today…today was a low cut jeans and a v-neck shirt.

"Holly shit," he whispered not exactly caring if she heard him or not. But all of this came as a shock to him- she had curves. And what curves they were… He had to swallow his spit before the drool came out of his mouth and to blink a couple of times because his eyes dried out.

"I know it ridiculous," tried to explain Hinata as soon as possible, "Ino bought them for me. I know I look funny-"

"No, no, no," Naruto quickly interrupted, "You look…how to say it…hot?"

Hinata stopped her rambling and blinked, "R-r-really?" she asked. Nobody ever said she was…hot. It was either cute or sweet or something of that sort.

"Defiantly," confirmed the boy, nodding eagerly with wide eyes and reassuring smile. Hinata returned it with a small one of her own before they walked to the class where Asuma had already started. Naruto made up a lame excuse for their tardiness and it was obvious that the teacher didn't believe him at all. But it seemed he was used to this.

When Neji laid eyes on Hinata, he knew this wasn't her deed. There was no way she could choose those kinds of clothes for herself. She always went for the baggy ones and truthfully Neji preferred them. Now he had to look out for perverts, too. There were only few people who cold have done this for her.

He turned around sharply to glare at Sakura. Somehow when it came to trouble his first association was with the pink haired girl. She lifted her hands in defense and quickly pointed to Ino who was sitting next to her. The blonde sank slowly down the chair as he shifted his glare to her.

Maybe it would take a while for this friendship to become beautiful…

* * *

**A/N:** _Yet another chapter finished. Yay! Unfortunately school starts and I don't know when I'll update again. The story starts to fold, doesn't it? Mhm, what did Karin find in those folders…I wonder…And the gang really starts getting close to each other. I also added a little SasuSaku and there will be more, later when their characters develop. Also, it seems I am on a NaruHina mood tonight…_

_Well, I hope you like it! I'll appreciate reviews. The longer they are, the happier I'll be!_


	4. Chapter 4: Enemy

**A/N:** _Hey, you guys! I'm back with a new chapter. Unfortunately, school started and I have even less time to write. But I'll try my best. Someone had asked me what they are wearing. I have drawing in my DA account (which you can find in on my profile) And I'm planning to do more of the girls. I'm not very good at describing what they wear so I drew it. And I'm planning to draw a separate ID of the characters but it would take a while._

_Thanks to all those people who reviewed!_

_**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Naruto.

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter**__** 4: Enemy**_

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Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment. -**Andre Maurois**

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* * *

Through the whole week, the hot topic of the whole school was the upcoming basketball match on Friday. The flyers were everywhere and the cheerleaders were decorating the lockers of the members. Not to mention there was merchandise everywhere. Apparently, the school was making good money out of this because there were a lot of students willing to buy a T-shirt of the team.

The guys spent most of their time after school in the gym where Gai practically pushed them to their physical limits. On the second day, Naruto could barely walk and Shikamaru was falling asleep while standing. The other three didn't seem fazed but once in a while Sasuke would cringe when sitting down. It was a miracle he could keep up with the whole smoking thing.

But finally, the awaited day of the mach came and students, cheering and roaring, flooded the gym. The wildest fans came painted and shirtless with flags and whistles. The cheerleaders, with Karin at the front, already danced to the loud music, flashing some of the people on the front rows. Not that those fans minded, at least not the male ones.

The girls barely managed to get some seats because the gym was overcrowded with people from Konoha and Sound. But eventually, they settled in the far back. Sakura's and Karin's eyes met as the latter smiled smugly at the pink haired girl. It seemed weird to Sakura but she brushed it off. On the other hand, Ino and Tenten were as excited as ever, screaming and cheering. Ino even went as far to draw two green lines on both cheeks. Hinata was holding a poster she made for the team but it was too small compared to those that some of the fans made. Most of them were from girls declaring their affection for one of the members…or all of them.

At last, the basketball teams entered the gym and the crowd went absolutely wild. Who knew high school basketball was this popular. But the girls never knew because they had never been to one before. The two teams shook hands at the referee blew the whistle signaling the beginning of the match.

Both Konoha and Sound played pretty well and clean, excluding one guy, who was the captain. He pushed Sai out of the way once but got away with it and then her elbowed Sasuke in the ribs which the referee didn't see too. The guy seemed a pro at cheating.

But despite that, the Konoha team managed well enough and currently was on the lead. There were only five minutes left and it they kept it up, Konoha High would win. But the Sound team didn't give up easily.

The game became a bit rough at the end and one of the sound guys ended up being thrown in Karin's feet, almost knocking the girl off. This, the referee saw, of course and the Konoha team got a penalty. The captain tried to score twice but Sasuke was right beside him, talking whatever came to his mind, distracting him.

The time ran out and the crowd boomed again with both cheers and boo-s. The closest friends of the members flooded the court, lifting them up. The mascot was right behind them, gesturing and jumping around. The girls followed the suit and went down to congratulate the boys on their first victory. Hinata practically tackled Neji as soon as she reached him, catching him off guard. Fortunately, she was too light to knock the boy off his feet.

Off course, Karin had to butt in and ruin the mood with her mere presence. She took her time to hug every team member individually, not caring if they were willing or not. The girl took her time with Sasuke, congratulating him on being a great captain. She wasn't all too willing in hugging Naruto and he looked completely terrified but she did it anyways, trying to look as if she wasn't favoring anyone. It didn't work out too well but nobody said a thing, trying to forget what had happened.

"There'll be a party at my house tonight," she declared before leaving, "to celebrate your victory. And of course you'll be my honored guests." The girl averted her red eyes to Hinata who still had her arms around Neji, "Bring whoever you want."

The weirdest thing wasn't that Karin invited them to the party. It was the look she had in her eyes. It was like she really wanted them there but she didn't have good intentions. Sakura was almost sure Karin was planning some kind of a stunt like Ino's accident. But that wouldn't stop her from going. Whatever the redhead threw at them, she'll get twice as bad.

* * *

It seemed like the whole gym had come to party at Karin's house. When the girls arrived, there were already drunk students everywhere smashing whatever was in their way. They somehow managed to get inside without getting their heads hit with flying objects. But inside was even worse. People dancing, grinding, sweating, drinking and getting high. Some couples went upstairs where they wouldn't be disturbed.

Somehow the girls lost each other in the crowd. Hinata looked for her friends but her height wasn't of much of a help. She couldn't even spot Sakura with her unusual hair color. Just when she was about to go back out and try to call one of them, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the crowd. Instinct immediately took over Hinata and she used her other hand to push the person away.

What she didn't expect was to find Idate in front of her. The boy stumbled back but managed to hold himself up.

"Wow, calm down there," he laughed and lifted his arms up showing that he didn't mean any harm. The girl looked at him skeptically and moved a step back. He sensed that she wasn't comfortable with him this close so he didn't try to invade her space.

"I just saw you there alone and I thought you were lost. Do you need help with finding your friends?" he asked with a kind smile. Hinata was tempted to accept his offer but the memory of what she heard from Naruto about him was the only thing stopping her.

Before she could answer though, another voice cut in, "That won't be necessary."

The girl immediately recognized her cousin's voice and relief washed over her. Idate's expression completely changed at the sight of the other boy. Hinata could feel the tension between these two just from standing in between them.

Neji pulled Hinata behind him and gave one final glare at Idate before leaving him. When they were out of earshot he turned back to his cousin, "What were you doing with him?" he asked.

"Nothing, he just pulled me out of the crowd," she hurried to explain before he got in an overprotective mode. "You heard the rest."

Neji nodded and looked behind him, making sure that Idate was out of sight and earshot, before pulling the girl closer, "Stay away from him; all of you."

Hinata looked him with worried eyes hoping that he would explain something to her but Neji just gave her a stern look. The girl gave up, knowing that he was a stubborn person, and followed him to where he and his friends had been.

Naruto immediately brightened even more at the sight of her, if that could be possible. He put down his drink and got up to hug her but stopped mid-way at the burning glare from Neji. Well, a greeting shall be then.

"You came," he exclaimed and looked behind her expecting to see the other girls, "alone?"

"I'll go look for the other four, before they get in trouble," declared Neji and pulled Naruto at the side, "Keep an eye on her and your hands to yourself."

"What does that supposed to mean?" asked Naruto, offended.

Neji rolled his eyes and squeezed the blonde's arm tightly, "I know you and I see how you look at her. Be careful, she is family."

With that the brown haired boy left. Naruto looked at his retreating figure confusedly. He had never seen Neji so cautious and protective of someone before. But he didn't understand what he meant. Looking at her differently?

Naruto frowned and looked back to the girl. Sure she was pretty, her skin was like porcelain and her hair was softer than cotton. Not to mention the curves she had under the baggy coat…

The boy stiffened at the thought. What the hell was that? He shook his head trying to erase everything on his mind. She was a big, fat NO. She was Neji's cousin for god sakes. The Hyuuga would have his head stuck on a stick if he ever laid a finger on her.

He shook his head again before rejoining the girl again, smiling like everything was okay. But was it really like that?

* * *

Temari gave out a frustrated sigh when she didn't find her friends anywhere. They just got here and everything went upside down. Just before they got in they promised each other to sick together since this was Karin's house. But it didn't go that way at all.

"Hey there, sweetheart. Why don't you come here and entertain us." called one guy who was seated at the couch with several others. It doesn't take long to get Temari's blood boiling and this comment finally triggered her anger.

She took him by the collar and lifted him up with surprising ease, "If you ever talk to me again or even if I see you ever again, I promise you, I'll make you eat your insides." She threatened angrily and released him with a shove. The boy moved away from her and sat at the far corner and his friends followed the suit when she glared at him.

Frustrated even more now, Temari continued her search for her friends. But the house was way overcrowded for anyone to find anything. And instead of finding any of the girls she stumbled on something terrible. And that something was a red haired Barbie doll.

"Looking for a boyfriend?" she asked with a sickingly nice voice that made Temari's stomach flip in disgust, "Don't bother; there's nobody willing enough here. The geek party is down the street though. They'll be desperate enough."

Temari gave a nice fake smile herself and she laughed sweetly in the redhead's face.

"Karin! Always conserved about my well being," she said as she came closer to the girl, "What do you want now, oh brainless one?"

The sweet but fake smile vanished from Karin's face, replaced by a frown. She wanted to shoot back a comment at the blonde girl but she wanted to save everything for later.

"Fortunately for you, I don't want anything. Just wanted to make sure you are enjoying the party." She laughed before continuing, "After all, you and your friends are my guests of honor."

With that, Karin left Temari frowning. Last time the blonde checked, the party was about the basketball team's first victory. Somehow, she knew that being the special guests of Karin can't bring anything good. Suddenly, Temari had a really bad feeling about this night.

She had to find the girls as soon as possible and get out of here before anything bad happens. The blonde looked around desperately again. But she only saw unknown faces. Little by little, she started panicking. And the bad feeling wouldn't go away.

"Temari!", she heard someone shout. It wasn't a female voice so it couldn't have been any of the girls. The blonde turned around and faced the lazy boy with the high IQ. But somehow she always forgets his name.

"Hi ,umm…you…" she stammered a bit feeling uncomfortable. The boy raised an eyebrow and muttered something that sounded like 'troublesome' but the music was too loud for her to hear clearly.

"Shikamaru," he reminded her, having caught on what she was thinking.

"Right, right," exclaimed the girl and laughed nervously while scratching the back of her neck. But she soon remembered what she was doing and the bad felling in her gut came back. Temari looked at him a came closer so he could hear her better.

"Have you seen any of the girls? I really need to find them."

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah, I saw Hinata with Naruto and Neji went to look for you."

"Take me to her," asked Temari. The boy complied and lazily walked into the crown. The people moved away to make him way and the girl scoffed. Nobody even bothered to move even an inch aside so she could pass.

* * *

Tenten was in no better situation than the other girls. She was too, desperately looking for her friends. She was also being squashed by the crowd of people.

"Need any help," someone behind her asked. She turned around and immediately stumbled back because she came face to face with Idate.

"Wow," the girl exclaimed, "Haven't you heard of personal space?"

The boy laughed quietly and stepped back muttering an apology. She looked at his suspiciously, scanning him from head to toes. He seemed to pop up from everywhere anytime any of the girls were in trouble. At first, it was really nice of him to help out but recently he was everywhere and it started to get really disturbing, not to mention annoying. But if there was any chance he could help her find her friends, Tenten was going to take it.

"Have you seen any of the girls?"

Idate raised his eyebrows suggestively, "I might have."

"What is that supposed to mean," she asked frowning.

The boy laughed and looked around as if checking if someone was watching them. He then turned back to the brunette and smirked, "Tell you what; we'll have a drink and I'll tell you where your friends are."

Tenten's frown deepened even more. She was officially freaked out. He seemed like another completely different person. And him, offering her drinks didn't make things any better. Alcohol wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

"No!" she almost shouted and moved away from him even more.

The boy laughed and reached his hand to her offering her a glass of vodka, "Come on, it's one glass. No big deal."

Tenten looked at the glass for a moment. To say she wasn't tempted would be a big lie. She wanted to take it and just gulp it down in one time. But it took all her willpower to knock the glass off his hand and shout "No!"

A few people near the couple looked at their direction but soon lost interest. Idate looked at the glass on the floor and then at the girl. She was glaring at him with burning eyes. If looks could kill, the boy would be ten feet underground.

"What's going on here?" asked a male voice but the owner was somewhere hidden in the crowd. People made way until Neji came out and as soon as he set eyes on the brown haired boy. "You again."

"Look, I left you cousin alone. I'm trying to make some friends," the boy tried to explain. But Neji didn't buy it.

"No, you're trying to take advantage of her," countered the Hyuuga.

"And what do you care? I left your cousin."

Neji stayed speechless for a while. The only explanation he had was that the girl was Hinata's friend. But who the hell would buy that. Idate would probably laugh in his face. So the only thing he could do was to swallow his pride and say something very uncharacteristically of him. The things he did for Hinata.

"She is my girlfriend," declared the boy making Tenten choke on her own spit. The people around them, who were able to hear the whole conversation over the loud music, started whispering while Idate stood dumb folded.

"I am?" asked Tenten with a confused look on her face. But when Neji gave her a glare that meant 'play along', the girl finally caught on. "I mean….yes I am."

At the background there were sounds of phones taking picture and Neji was sure their pictures were going to be on the walls of the halls on Monday.

"Is that a good enough reason?" asked Neji stepping between the girl and Idate. "Don't come near my cousin or any of her friends. Next time I see you even looking at them, I'll make your life miserable."

He grabbed Tenten by the wrist and dragged her away from Idate and the audience.

'Thanks." smiled softly the girl.

"Don't thank me just yet."

* * *

Ino wasn't so sad or panicked when she lost sight of the girls. At first she tried to look for them but after that she got way too distracted as goys started asking her to dance. Ah her being Ino, she could never decline. The blonde hoped the girls had as much fun as she had.

Right now, she was dancing with a boy one year older she had seem several times in the halls. He was nice to her and actually talked to her after the song ended. Ino seemed to have liked him until he started to show his horns after a few drinks.

"Hey, it stared to get boring here, don't you think?" he asked after a while

Ino laughed and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but it is Karin's party so I'm not surprised."

The boy smirked and leaned to his side to leave his drink on the table before turning to Ino. They were both seated on a couch facing each other. He leaned forward a pin his hand on Ino's thigh, catching her completely off guard.

"I can make it a lot more fun," he started and his hand slid upward her leg while talking. "If you join me upstairs."

Ino wasn't dumb. She knew exactly what he meant but that suggestion. She had seen couples going upstairs the whole night. And it insulted and angered her that he thought she would do the same with him, a complete stranger.

So she waited no longer to slap his hand away as strong as she could. But that didn't satisfy her. Ino took the drink he had left and splashed it in his face.

"Who do you think you are talking to?" she asked over the loud music. The boy seemed completely taken aback by her response but that didn't discourage him.

"Come on, don't be shy." laughed the boy and took her hand. That only made Ino's blood boil even more. As much as she wanted to slap him, she couldn't afford to draw attention to her. She looked around her to see if any of the girls were around to help her. But it wasn't any of them she saw. It was way even better.

"Do you see the guy over there?" she asked lowly while pointing at a direction.

"Sai?"

Ino nodded confidently, "Yes him."

The boy seemed a little confused and a bit frightened, "What about him?"

That was what Ino was waiting for. "If he finds out what you try to do with me he'll beat you to a bloody pulp."

He was still lost at what Ino was getting at, "What does he have to do with this?"

Ino was ready to cut her tongue off after this, "He's my…boyfriend."

Upon hearing this, the boy released her hand and backed away, stammering, "I-I-I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Please, don't tell him."

With that he disappeared as fast as lighting in the crowd without even one looking back at her. Ino smirked at him and then looked at Sai who was talking with a guy. He was about to leave and Ino didn't want to stay alone. So she followed him and wrapped her hands his arm, catching him off guard. He looked at her weirdly and she only smiled in return.

Ino could feel he was stiff and uncomfortable but he let her tag along with him.

* * *

Sakura sighed loudly as she breather the fresh air outside. She got fed up being squished by grinding couples and drunken teenagers and decided to go out for a bit. Not to mention that he lost the girls and hadn't seen them since entering. She hoped they were okay since their original plan was to stay together if Karin tried to make some kind of a move on them.

The pink haired girl looked around and was surprised to see the star of this party- Sasuke himself. She scrunched her face when she saw him smoking again but swallowed her disgust and decided to go to him.

He granted her with one last glance before turning to stare forward again. She knew he didn't want her here but sat down anyways. There was silence for awhile with him smoking his cigarette and her dangling her legs. But Sakura wasn't the one to stay quiet for long.

"What's up?' she chirped happily. Sasuke slowly looked at her again with bored eyes and puffed smoke in her face. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her scrunched in displeasure face. The boy smirked, satisfied with his deed and turned away again.

"Aren't you giddy today…?" she muttered but it was like she was talking to air.

The girl scoffed at the anti-social boy. Can he be anymore ruder?

"Have you seen any of the girls?" she asked again trying to make him talk. But it was like she was invisible. Annoyed to her limit, she stood up and went in front of him. Finally he looked up at her.

"I asked you something."

He only shrugged and looked away from her again. Sakura was officially pissed

The pink haired girl took the cigarette right from his mouth and squashed it under her foot. At least now she had his attention.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked monotonously. She didn't answer with words. Instead, she just twisted her foot over the cigarette to emphasis her irritation.

"Answer the question."

"What question?"

Sakura groaned. He really was hopeless and wasn't listening to a word she said.

"Why are you so mean?"

He raised a brow, "Is that the question?"

Her eye twitched, "No!"

He stared at her for a second before digging in his pocket to get another cigarette, "I really don't understand the point of this."

Sakura closed her eyes and inhaled deeply trying to contain her anger and not smack him on the head.

"Have you seen my friends?" she said through gritted teeth.

"No."

The girl sighed and slumped back down on the bench and bent her head backwards, "Was it that hard?"

Sasuke light his cigarette and inhaled the smoke before turning to her with a tired look on his face, "If you are going to proclaim your undying love for me, don't waste your time."

Sakura gave a dry laugh, "Hardly."

"Then why are you here annoying me?" he asked, smoke coming out of his mouth as he talked.

Sakura's head snapped up again and she glared at him, "I'm annoying you? I was just asking a question while you completely ignored me. If someone is annoying here it's you."

"Are you done?"

The pink haired girl wanted to scream in irritation. Back in the mall a few days ago, she thought he was nice but quiet. But now she knew that he was quiet because he was arrogant. And it ticked her off to see him act this was towards her. He seriously needed reality check.

"If you continue to be like this you'll be alone very soon."

"Good." He shot back with a bitter voice. She looked at his profile to see if he had an expression. It wasn't a surprise that he didn't.

"Is that what you want?"

He frowned and turned back to her with and angry look, "Look, if you're done preaching, I'd like to be alone."

Sakura was taken aback for a second but then stood up, "Okay, fine. Suit yourself."

And she left him without looking back.

* * *

Hinata watched as Naruto laughed drunkenly at some joke one of the guys made. It had been awhile since Neji had left in search of the girls and still wasn't back.

She was seated next to Naruto who was on his third glass of vodka and was already tipsy. One in a while he would turn to her and laugh while slinging a hand over her shoulder and pressing her to his side. Then he would release her.

The girl noticed how her heart would beat faster every time he did that and her face would go red. But he was drunk enough not to notice that.

Suddenly, Naruto turned to her again and looked at her face and then at her hands.

"You don't have a drink." He exclaimed and stood up before she can say anything. Hinata watched him as he rumored through bottles of alcohol. He lifted up a beer but then but it back down muttering something about Neji killing him if he gave her alcohol.

"There isn't anything but alcohol here." He said in a dazed voice. Now Hinata was sure he was drink

He had a thoughtful look on hi face before it lit up, "I know! There is a machine down the street. We'll get you something there."

And before she could say she was okay with just water, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up and out of the house. His walk was wobbly and unbalanced since he wasn't sober. They passed the crowd effortlessly with Naruto screaming make way.

When the reached the machine, the blonde struggled to put the coins in. It made Hinata giggle a bit at his silliness and he turned back to grin at her. She offered to do it herself and took the coins from his hands as he stepped back to make space for her.

He watched her as she bent slightly down, some of her raven locks falling over her shoulders. He had the urge to brush them, to feel their softness but Neji's face popped in his mind and Naruto shivered. But then when he looked at her profile while she was waiting for the coke to come out something in him snapped.

Hinata bent down again to take her drink ant turned around with a smile, "Thanks for commi-"

A pair of lips cut her off and Hinata dropped her can of coke. She looked at Naruto's closed eyes and couldn't believe what was happening. His lips moved against her still ones and she felt her heat beating fast again. His hand came behind her head and intertwined his fingers in her locks.

When her mind actually comprehended the situation, panic rose in her. With her hands, she pushed at his chest a bit but he didn't stop.

"Naruto." She managed to mumble against his lips. It was like the boy snapped back to reality. He moved his back a bit to look at her.

"Hinata, I'm-"

She shook her head and untangled his hand from her hair, stepping back. As much as she didn't want to make him feel guilty, she had to run away. Away from him. Because it was not safe to be near him. Because it would hurt him.

She faintly heard him yell her name after her. But she didn't look back. And she refused to admit that her lips still burned as she ran.

* * *

It was the time of the night Karin had waited patiently for. She was shaking with excitement. How she wanted to see their faces when she put her plan into motion.

Karin signaled one of her friends to stop the music and the crowd groaned in displease. The redhead climbed on one of the tables and motioned for them to quiet down.

"Calm down everyone! Sorry to interrupt the party but I have something to say."

She waited to get everybody's attention before continuing, "As you all know our basketball team one the first match of the season against Sound!"

The crowd roared again and Karin had to wait for them to calm down again so she could speak, "But this is not why I've gathered here you for."

She could already hear the whispers from the crowd. Wait until she find out what she got in store for the. She saw Tenten with Neji at one corned looking weirdly at her and Ino clutching Sai's arm. Karin also saw Temari, with Shikamaru a few steps behind her, looking worried. Heh, she should be. And she could see Sakura leaning at the doorframe ad Sasuke not far behind. But he didn't venture further. Soon after, the little Hyuuga arrived panting, next to Sakura and Naruto who stood next to Sasuke.

Perfect, everybody was here. Now the show can start.

* * *

**A/N:** _A cliffhanger, yes. You'll have to wait for the next one to find out what Karin has in mind. R&R!!!!_


	5. Chapter 5: The games we play

A/N:

_Sorry for the long wait guys! School is all-consuming and it really bugs me. Thanks to those who are patient with me _

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto._

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter**__** 5: The games we play**_

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You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. -**Eric Hoffer**

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* * *

To make a teenager feel scandalized was hard. And it's even harder those days. But somehow Karin always managed to surprise everyone with a new outfit, or make up, or hairdo, or new boy toy. And the redhead was always satisfied with the results. But nothing is as great as the event occurring now.

She saw many curious eyes staring at her in anticipation. And the girl wasn't going to let them wait for long. She signaled her friends with a hand and they started giving out sheets of paper. She took that time to start talking.

"Our school is known to be prestigious and accepting bright students. That's what I thought. That's what you thought…but we were all wrong." Whispers spread around the crowd, making Karin smirk.

"A few weeks ago five new students arrived at the campus- Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, Sabaku no Temari, Yamanaka Ino and Tenten. Even if they look like regular girls, they are far from it."

She could see Tenten get up from her seat while Neji looked a little lost at what was going on. Karin would make sure her had it all cleared out.

"Alcohol, drugs, gambling, fighting, street racing. You name it. Those girls are experienced in every area. And here comes the question. Why are they here?"

To anybody who looked at the scene from afar, this whole scene could be funny. Hell, Sakura could have laughed if it wasn't Karin who was doing this. Even if she knew the redhead for a short while, the girl knew she wasn't good news. Behind her, Hinata was a bundle of nerves and the pink haired girl knew it had to do with more than the current situation.

"I think it's not fair to all those students, who worked hard to be here, to let those girls stay in our school. Am I right?"

The crowd below started murmuring again, nodding in agreement. Neji frowned and turned around to ask Tenten what's going on but she was gone. He looked around for her but she had literary disappeared.

The chestnut haired girl had swiftly made her way to Sakura and Hinata. She knew they had to leave right now before any questions rise. But with Temari still somewhere amongst the crowd, that wasn't possible.

"Tomorrow I'll start a petition. Everybody who wants these girls out of our school is welcome to sign up."

The murmuring among the people got louder. Sakura wanted to leave more than anything right now. As if on cue, Temari practically bolted out of the crowd to meet them. They didn't say anything. The taking will be later. Right now they had to make a quiet escape.

Meanwhile, Karin was at the peek of her happiness. Yes, for Karin scandalizing teenagers was like drinking water. Natural.

* * *

That night Hinata couldn't sleep at all. After they came back from the party they talked a little and decided to just get some sleep. Monday would be a tough day for sure. But it wasn't Monday that Hinata was nervous about. What happened with Naruto couldn't leave her head. She just needed to tell somebody.

The girl first attempted to wake up Sakura but the pink haired girl was a heavy sleeper. She just murmured something and turned to the other side. So Hinata found herself in Tenten's room, on her bed, shaking her awake.

At first the brunette looked a bit dazed and unfocused but when she saw Hinata she frowned.

"Hinata., are you okay?" she asked with a raspy voice.

The timid girl shook her head, "I can't sleep."

It was Tenten's turn to frown now, "Hinata, we already talked about it. Tsunade won't allow anything to happen to us."

She made a move to hit the pillows again but the raven haired girl gripped her shoulders, preventing her to fall asleep again.

"It's not that!"

That got Tenten's attention. She looked at her friend confusingly before lifting her hands in defense, "If this is about your tooth brush, Ino dropped it in the toilet so we threw it away."

Hinata scrunched her face in disgust but was relieved that the girls were nice enough not to let her use it again. Despite the disturbing news, the timid girl stayed focused on the subject.

"Naruto kissed me."

Now Tenten was widely awake. She looked at her shy friend and then remembered the blond loudmouth. Somehow it looked odd imagining them together as they seemed total opposites of each other. That and the boy struck as a little dense and perverted.

"Did he try to take advantage of you? I'll kill him."

"No, no," tried to reason Hinata as her friend stood up on the bed and started punching and kicking the air. "He was a bit drink, that's all."

"Oh, "was all Tenten could say, feeling a bit awkward after the show she put up. She slumped back on the bed and looked at Hinata reassuringly. "Then there's no big deal, right? I mean, he won't even remember it."

Something uneasy settled in the pit of her stomach at the thought. Would he really forget? If she thought about the situation logically, it would be better if he did forget. But deep down, she selfishly wanted him not to. She wanted him to chase her, pay attention to her…just like last night.

The thoughtful look on Hinata's face didn't go unnoticed by Tenten. She frowned yet again and moved so that she could look at her friend's eyes.

"Hinata, you want him to forget, right?"

The timid girl didn't answer. She just looked worriedly at the brunette but remained silent because she wasn't sure what she wanted herself.

Tenten's eyes softened and she muttered her fiend's name silently while pulling her in a hug. The next morning Temari entered the room with a loud crash claiming that Hinata is missing. She was relieved to fin the girl sleeping next to Tenten.

* * *

It wasn't a surprise to see Karin at the entrance of the school with the petition in her hand on Monday morning. It also wasn't a surprise to see how many people had already signed it. The redhead had gladly shoved the papers in their faces claiming that their hours in the school were numbered. Sakura only smiled at her and encouraged the girl to continue doing whatever she wanted. But they weren't going to go anywhere.

The girls separated to go to their own lockers. Sakura dug through various books trying to find her history book. By the time she found it, she was already pissed off. It wasn't just the book was below all the other that had her annoyed. Behind her the girl could hear the students openly talking about her, without minding that she was right there, listening.

She was used to it by now. In Suna, she and her friends had always been the talk of the school. The only difference was that there they were looked with admiration and even fear. But here they were a laughing stock.

With a frustrated sigh Sakura slammed the locker door shut only to let out a startled squeak. Realizing it was Sasuke, the girl put a hand on her chest and roller her eyes in annoyance

"Surprised?" he asked with a emotionless voice even if the corner of his mouth lifted upwards a little.

"Actually, yes," she answered. "I was expecting Neji to come and nag me." She leaned on her locker and smiled all too kindly, "Who is he torturing at the moment so that he had to send you to snoop around?"

If the circumstances were different Sasuke could have laughed a bit. Even if he hated to admit it the girl in front of him had the attitude of a man despite her small size. Her eyes always held a challenge even when she talked about simple things.

He offered only a small smirk, "I don't know."

The truth is he really went to snoop around of Neji's behalf. He really could care less but after the Hyuuga threatened him to show his naked baby pictures, which Sasuke had no idea where he had them from. Still, he wasn't exactly going to ask her hoping that she would start to confess on her own. But he was just getting ahead of himself.

"You can tell pretty boy to shove the stick in his ass deeper because I'm not about to explain myself to him. Or you can get out your from your ass and shove it in his, for all I care."

If it was someone with a lot less patience than him, she would have been slapped. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if someone had don't it before. Her mouth was just way too big to be ignored.

"I'll make sure he gets the message."

She smiled sweetly again and scooted her books closer to herself, "Thanks."

Sakura made to leave him but she didn't for far before he grabbed her arm and made her go back to her previous place. The girl roller her eyes again in annoyance and looked at him with expecting eyes.

"Is it true?"

Sakura frowned at the lack of words in his speech but it seemed like he didn't say much overall, only when it's necessary.

"Yes," she answered through gritted teeth. She didn't know why she actually gave him a response after telling him she won't explain herself.

"Why?"

Sakura laughed dryly at the question. Another person would have scolded her for the trouble she had caused but Sasuke looked like he could care less and was eager for this to be over. Well, so was she.

"Because we were immature and it was actually fun to a certain point." That answer came out before she could stop herself. At times like this she agreed that her mouth really was big.

"Certain point?" …and apparently Sasuke had caught on.

As if it sensed her distress, the bell rang through the hall signaling the students to get to class. Sakura was literary saved by the bell.

"Well, I need to go." She brushed off the subject and pushed off the locker, "Now that you know, you can go and sign that little petition Karin has."

* * *

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. Ever since the morning when Shizune had told her what was going on at the entrance, the blonde's head was throbbing. She knew that accepting those girls in the school would cause some problems but she was expecting them to come up later. A lot later.

But as usual, Karin didn't need to do a lot to ruin Tsunade's day. Even if her father had been the main source of money for years, the head mistress couldn't help but hate the spoiled brat.

But today everything was going to change. She could wait to see the girl in her office. Tsunade had sent Shizune to call for the girl and even though it was immature to feel that way, the principal couldn't hide her small smile.

It quickly disappeared when the door opened and Shizune poked her head.

"Karin is here as you requested."

Tsunade gave a nod, "Good, send her in."

Said girl entered the office with a confused look. Karin had the intention to visit the head mistress to submit the petition she now held in her hands. But she didn't expect to be called in.

"How can I help you, Tsunade-sama," she asked with a rather professional voice.

Tsunade nodded again, "Yes, you can help me by explaining what on earth you are doing all morning."

"I'm having a petition I was going to submit later today."

Tsunade gave her a glare, "I am aware of that. My question is why?"

Karin didn't seem fazed by the glare of the older woman, "Because I don't think it is fare for the student's to have troublemakers like them around."

"And who do you think you are to decide that?"

"It wasn't me who decided. A lot of my fellow students think the same way," countered the redhead and offered the petition as a proof. The older woman took it almost unwillingly. It took all her will power not to widen her eyes at the number of signs. "They didn't work hard enough to get in, did they?" continued the redhead.

Tsunade wanted just that kind of answer. For a girl who went as far as starting a petition she was oblivious to how many problems she had.

"If my memory is correct you didn't work hard either. Your place, as well as may others, is bought." The woman had hard time hiding a smirk when she saw the girl in front of her stiffening. "That puts you in the same category as those five girls. Am I right?"

Karin frowned and leaned forward a bit, holding Tsunade's intense gaze, "I think my situation is more delicate." And the polite tone flew out of the window. This conversation had the potential to become a cat fight if it wasn't Tsunade's self control that she usually lacked. It was maybe because she had never been so sober in her life.

"I don't thinks so," said the head mistress and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Mr. Hyuuga himself just donated more money for the school that your father does for a year."

Karin's eyes widened and she practically snatched the paper off Tsunade's hands. The woman could see the rising panic in her eyes as she read through the document.

"That means they are in an even more delicate situation than you. With that much money I can renovate the unused building in the back yard and the gym and still have money to spare."

"That's impossible…" whispered the girl. Just five minutes ago she was at the peak of her happiness. She had planned for this for two days and everything seemed perfect…until now.

"I believe you understand your situation now," continued Tsunade. "I'll keep that." She pointed at the petition. "You are dismissed."

Karin stood up and bowed lightly before turning around. Tsunade's voice stopped her at the door, "And untie your shirt and pull it down, please."

It took all off Karin's will power not to stomp her foot and go back to slap the head mistress.

* * *

As if the ruined plan wasn't enough, Karin was pulled in the chemistry lab on her way to class. But this wasn't the worst. Upon seeing who the 'kidnapper' was, the girl officially wanted to cry.

"Suigetsu…." She whispered as the boy grinned wickedly at her. Her eyes widened when she saw him shaking a spray in on hand. Panicking, she tried to run but he pushed her against the wall, preventing her from moving.

"I feel very…artistic today…" he said lowly. And Karin's hell officially began. Her shirt, hair and even one half of her glasses were covered in green spray. And on top of all he kissed her. No wait, he didn't kiss her. He shoved his tongue down her throat, just for the kick of it.

* * *

"Did you see her?" asked Naruto as he squeezed between Tenten and Hinata during lunch break. He didn't get an answer, though. Only weird stares that asked him what was he doing sitting with them. Hinata was the only one who looked away and scooted as far away from him as possible…which was only few inches.

"See who?" asked Temari and looked around the cafeteria. Surely everything seemed to be calm and normal.

"Karin…" drawled Shikamaru as he too settled down on the table between Temari and Sakura rather unwillingly. "She walks around looking like a crossover between a human and an alien."

After him the other guys followed the suit and settled on the table. Ino frowned when Sai pushed her a bit and settled between her and Hinata. It was obvious that neither of them wanted to be there but it seemed like Neji had them bound with something.

"You know guys, it you were in prison, all of you," she pointed at Shikamaru, Sai, Sasuke and Naruto, "would be his bitches." She pointed at Neji. (1)

Tenten laughed and reached for Neji's pocket. She then turned to Naruto, smiling sweetly, "Quickly, grab on."

Naruto made a disgusted face and turned his head to the other side only to come face to face with Hinata. The girl flushed almost instantly and also turned to the other side and meeting the all too sweet smile of Sai.

"From the way you talk," started Neji looking at Ino and then at Tenten, "It sounds like you have experience. Between the drinking and gambling, have you, by any chance, been arrested?"

Sakura laughed and took a sip of her water, "Trying to make us feel guilty?" she asked before leaning on the table, looking at Neji straight in the eye, "Nice move but…it's not going to work."

"Why don't you girls do us all a favor and tell him what he wants to know so we can leave." It was Sasuke who spoke. Ino seemed a little startled since this was probably the first time she had heard his voice.

"Well, what do you know…it speaks," laughed the blonde and then cupped her chin in her hands, leaning on the table. "Your voice is kind of sexy. You should talk more."

Temari rolled her eyes sensing that Ino was switching to flirt mode, "Down girl." Ino just shrugged as if saying 'I can't help it'.

At that moment, Sai decided to pipe in, "So are you girls going to be expelled?"

"No." answered Temari. She had heard from two passing girls that Tsunade had put an end to Karin's little protest. And she had to admit, the head mistress was rather quick.

"Speaking of that, do you guys know who did that to Queen Bee?" asked Ino, as always interested in gossip. She might as well go to that person and kiss him.

Naruto laughed, "I have a pretty good idea." He cocked his head to the right, "The weird looking guy with whitish hair and sharp teeth. They are sworn enemies."

Ino made a face. He looked cute but something about him put her off. Maybe the wicked look in his eyes just told her that he was too crazy even for her taste.

As if he knew they were looking at him, he turned towards them. He waved at on of them and Sakura wasn't sure to who until Sasuke lifted his hand in response. To say Sakura was surprised was an understatement. Seeing him being this social was a bit weird. But if Suigetsu was able to get such a response from the raven haired boy, there had to be something interesting around him.

"If he did something like that to her, "she said as she waved to Suigetsu ", then I want him as my best friend." The girl smiled when he responded awkwardly.

"Well, that's cold," muttered Temari.

* * *

**A/N:** _No cliffhanger here. I'm not that evil. I know I focused on Karin a lot but she is important to my plot right now. And she and Suigetsu are perfect for the love-hate relationship. The first attempt to get rid of the girls failed thanks to kick ass Tsunade. And Suigetsu got his revenge on Karin. Also some SasuSaku interaction! Yes!_

_(1)That was totally inspired by "Friends". Couldn't stop myself….teeeheee :P_

_Reviews make me happy, long ones make me ecstatic!_


	6. Chapter 6:Unexpected Guest

**A/N:** _Hello guys! I'm back with a new chapter. Hope you'll like it. Sorry for the long wait but school has been a real pain. I know a lot of you understand what I mean._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter 6:**__** Unexpected Guest**_

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Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. **Buddha**

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* * *

A week passed since the incident at the party but nothing had changed. The girls still heard the whispers of the students when they walked down the halls of the school. They were still seeing the smug look on Karin's face every time they went in the cafeteria. There were also several incidents with her friends. One of them had taken Hinata's gym clothes and hid them away preventing the girl from participating in the lesson.

Then another dumped her trey in Temari's lap. Let's just say the whole thing ended in a huge food fight. Then Sakura's locker was filled with bugs and as soon as she saw them, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Naruto had only laughed when he saw her locker and called for a guy named Shino. The girl only watched in horror as he collected the bugs one by one and put them in his sleeve. And finally it was Tenten's turn to get bullied. Her backpack was thrown out of the window when she entered the classroom after a break.

And that's how the whole week went by. The girls refrained from getting revenge since they still didn't want a one way trip to Tsunade's office.

After this exhausting week the girls finally had time to just do nothing. On Sunday morning Sakura was sprawled on the sofa with her feet dangling from the side. A bowl of cereal in her hands, she watched animation, not even bothering to change from her night clothes. Deidara and Sasori were already out looking for a job so that meant no nagging.

Hinata was cooking breakfast in the kitchen while Tenten was out jogging. The lavender eyed girl knew that the breakfast wasn't going to be appreciated a lot since Sakura was already eating and Temari usually didn't have breakfast. But she knew that Tenten would be hungry when she got back and Hinata always enjoyed watching the girl wolfing down the food.

Ino was still in bed claiming that she needed extra beauty sleep after such a tiring week. Temari had joined Sakura in watching TV while lying upside down on the armchair with her head dangling in the air. Her face was already red but she just enjoyed the rush of blood in her head.

When Ino finally came down to see the state the girls were in she couldn't help but frown.

"Such a sexy sight," She sighed while approaching the two lazy girls. "I'm tempted to snap a picture of you and put it on internet."

"Shut up, piggy," drawled out Sakura as she surfed through the channels. "We are exhausted."

The blonde stuck her tongue out and passed them but now without getting hit with a pillow. She quickly disappeared in the kitchen and reappeared with a trey in hands and Hinata trailing behind her.

"You should eat something," said Hinata, looking at Temari but knowing that her attempts to make her eat were in vain.

"No thanks," muttered the blonde, brushing off the worried expression Hinata had.

Just then Tenten came back from her morning jog, panting and sweating. As soon as she smelled the food, she disappeared into the kitchen. The girls just sighed as they heard how Tenten practically stuffed her face.

"We should do something fun today," piped in Ino after finishing breakfast. She got no reaction from the two lazy bums but Tenten seemed interested.

"Oh, let's go play volleyball," she suggested bouncing in her but from her spot on the floor.

Sakura gave her a dry look, "She said fun."

The brunette stuck her tongue out at the pink haired girl and turned away with a huff.

"If you want to go to the mall and shop again, I'm going to smack you," threatened Temari remembering their last time there and the pain in her feet afterwards. The girl wouldn't last another shopping spree.

But apparently faith had another thing planned for the girls. Before they could make any further plans for the day, there was a knock on the door. Sakura frowned and looked at the clock. It couldn't be Sasori and Deidara because it was still early for them to come back and they weren't expecting anyone else.

Ino stood up to answer the door only to gasp in surprise. Before her stood a petite girl, just reaching the blonde's shoulder, with long brown hair and almost white eyes. And she knew there was only one family with eyes like those.

"Hanabi?" she squeaked, eyes widening even more. Upon hearing the name, the other girls looked at each other with surprised looks and quickly stumbled to the door to make sure they heard right.

"Hello, girls, I guess we'll be living together for a while." the small girl smiled the cutest smile she could manage but the five knew better. Underneath the lovely exterior were hidden troubles.

* * *

"I ran away." explained Hanabi after the girls had settled down in the living room. It was obvious from the small bag she had that she had been in a hurry. Hinata frowned at her little sister and looked at her with disapproval. Hanabi was supposed to be the good daughter or so her father believed, while the older sister was always second to her in her father's favor. But now, it seemed like the two girls were not much different from each other.

"Why did you do that? You know we have problems and dad is concerned." asked Hinata while cupping her head in her hands. She was worried not only for her sister but also for her father. Even though he had neglected her through most of her childhood, she knew he cared for her. And after the events that had occurred a while ago, causing the girls to leave, Hiashi had been a mess. This could be the last blow to his nerves.

"He found out about Konohamaru and me and wouldn't let me see him. So I ran away."

"To another city where you can see him every day…" finished Sakura, irony dripping from her voice. It wasn't like she hated the new girl. But right now they were in a sticky situation and having Hanabi in the house would be dangerous.

Ino snorted and plopped on the couch next to the young girl, "Can't you be normal teenagers and sneak around? You always have to make it difficult."

Hinata shot a warning look to the blonde telling her not to teach little Hanabi such things. But all of them knew that the girl had pretty neat tricks up her sleeve herself.

"My plan was to come here and make you call dad saying that I'll come back only if he lets me see Konohamaru," she explained trying to make her point clear but from the blank stares she got, Hanabi decided she needed to elaborate, "Since I'm dad's week spot, he'll be forced to do it or I'll stay here forever and he'll never see me again."

It was a good plan, Sakura decided, until she heard the part about staying forever. It might work for Hanabi but none of the girls was ready to take in another girl.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Hinata stood up and announced, "I'm calling dad to inform him that you are okay. Tomorrow I'm taking you back home."

Hanabi's eyes widened in panic and she abruptly stood up from the couch, almost knocking Ino down in the process, "You can't!" she argued.

"Oh, I can and I will." countered Hinata with a determined voice.

"You can't go back home because they are looking for you. And dad can't send someone to pick me up because he is tracked. And I'm not going anywhere." declared the girl, crossing her arms. "Soon they'll find out you're not in town and then it's only a matter of time before they find you."

The girls knew she was right. Their eyes met, fully knowing the one and only solution.

* * *

"How can you not know his phone number?" whined Tenten after being elbowed in the ribs for the tenth time. That is the risk you take when being squeezed in a car. "I mean he is your cousin."

"Dad only gave me his address." explained Hinata as they drove down a narrow street. No one was happy about asking Neji do the job of dropping off the troublesome young Hyuuga but it was the only option they had.

Sakura sighed as she looked out of the window. Her pride would be wounded when asking Neji for help and she hated it. She hated that she had no choice. She hated it that she had no life. She hated it that she had no freedom. Sakura missed the days when she and the girls could jus go out and have fun like normal teenagers, without a care for the world. Those days seem so long ago at this moment that she stared to wonder if they weren't just a mere dream. And if they were, she wanted to sleep forever.

A flash of black caught Sakura's eye and she narrowed her eyes, trying to see through some trees they were passing. When she saw the back of a fairly tall boy, dribbling a basketball, Sakura immediately knew who he was. She could recognize Sasuke anywhere and anytime. But he wasn't alone.

"There's Neji!" she exclaimed and turned to Hinata, "Stop the car."

The dark haired girl complied and parked the car near the basketball court where Neji and Sasuke played. Hanabi groaned and refused to get out of the car. In the end Ino and Temari had to practically drag her to the court.

When the two boys noticed the girls approaching, they stopped their game. Both were panting which indicated that they had been playing for a while. Neji didn't recognize Hanabi as he had seen her only once as a small baby but her eyes and the resemblance with her sister were enough form him to understand.

"What brings you here?" he asked suspiciously. Either they were bad at it or they really didn't try to hide the distress from their faces. Neji just knew they were bringing trouble.

"Neji, I want you to meet Hanabi." Started Hinata but it was obvious that she was beating around the bush. "Say hello to Neji." She whispered, elbowing the younger girl. Hanabi nodded curtly at her cousin but didn't spare him more than one glance. She did look more than twice at Sasuke causing Sakura to scowl. Wasn't she here because she liked some other guy?

"So, get to the point. I really can't imagine you coming here just to introduce her." It may have sounded a bit harsh but Neji was like that. He never said anything more than needed. Much like Sasuke, who was observing to scene even though he looked preoccupied with the ball.

"Well, you see, Hanabi… she ran away from home and I kind of need you to take her back." The words rushed so fast from her mouth that it was hard for a normal to understand her properly. But the Neji wasn't exactly what you call normal. Behind him Sasuke stopped his dribbling and came closer to them, granting his full attention.

Raising a suspicious brow, the Hyuuga asked, "Why can't you take her?"

Hinata didn't change her expression as she spoke, "I'm busy tomorrow."

"Take her the day after that."

"We have school."

"Have your dad send somebody to take her."

"He has can't afford another driver. He has a financial problem right now."

Most of the things she said were lies and Hinata felt bad for doing this to him but she had no other choice. Except maybe saying something like 'Sorry but there are people searching for us and we shouldn't be found.' Yeah, not happening.

Neji weighed his options. If he went back to his hometown a lot of memories would come back and none of them were pleasant. Plus, he would go against his promise to never go back there. But this was also probably the only chance to get some information about the mystery around the girls.

"Fine, I'll do it."

"What?" Sasuke spoke for the first time expressing the surprise everybody felt. Nobody actually believed he would agree but it was worth the try.

"I said I'll do it." repeated Neji this time turning to his side to give Sasuke a weird look. The boy didn't seem to understand what that look meant but he would find out soon enough.

Hinata thanked him with a light bow and slapped her sister's back indicating to do the same. The girl grumbled but compiled before turning away and stomping back to the car. Hinata followed right behind her while the other girls lingered for a few more seconds. Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes met for the briefest moment and gave her a knowing look that made her feel uneasy. It was like he could read her like an open book. She looked away almost immediately.

* * *

It wasn't long after the girls had left when the other three guys arrived. Neji had insisted that everybody was there before he could explain his plan. Sasuke had been eager to know what's going on in his friend's head but didn't show it. He himself did understand why this whole situation gained his attention since he usually didn't care about strangers such as those girls. And it annoyed him that he did now.

"Are you seriously going to do it?" asked Shikamaru, a bit surprised by Neji's generous deed. Usually none of the guys, except Naruto, would bother to do something like this for another person.

"Yes," came Neji's short answer.

"Out of love towards your little cousins?" questioned Sai skeptically.

"You can say that."

The four guys raised their eyebrows disbelievingly at his answer. The word 'love' didn't exist in Neji's dictionary. If he ever felt remotely attached to something or someone, he would call it affection or attraction but never love. The guys knew that better than anyone else.

"I don't get it," proclaimed Naruto who had surprising kept quiet ever since he came. And even if the others had appreciated it, it unnerved the Hyuuga because he wouldn't look at him in the eye for more that a second. It was obvious that the blonde was hiding something from him and Neji was going to find out as soon as he was finished with his plan.

"I'll explain," said the boy as he took the ball from Sasuke and dribbled it to the court. He tried to shoot but Sai blocked it, taking the ball away. "If Hinata won't say anything about what happened, I'll ask her father about it."

Sasuke snatched the ball from Sai and scored three points before Naruto could block him, "What makes you think that her dad will say anything to you?"

"If he doesn't I'll just ask old friends." explained Neji as he passed to Shikamaru. "You're forgetting that I once lived there."

The next day came too quickly for Hanabi's liking. And she didn't forget to show it. Hinata had to practically drag her out of bed, kicking and screaming.

When Neji turned up to pick the young girl up, something in Hanabi snapped. I took about an hour just to clam her down and make her go with him. Of course, he looked awkward with his younger cousin since he had seen her only once in his life and she was just an infant. This was the first time Neji could actually talk to her and she could answer him with words rather than baby noises and drool. And truthfully, he liked it better back then when she couldn't hold her head up and stayed in her crib quietly. Hanabi had really become the opposite of Hinata. It was the air around the young girl that told him she was a troublemaker. But thanks to her, Neji had the chance to uncover the mystery around the girls.

* * *

"You are the worst sister ever!" screamed the girl, crossing the arms once she settled on the back seat of Neji's car. "You are supposed to be on my side!"

Hinata sighed for the tenth time this morning, "Not when you pull these kind of stunts. I told you already that you can't do whatever you want especially now. You know dad has health problems. The last thing he needs is to worry about you." When she saw her sister's scowling face she leaned forward and lowered her voice, "You said that sisters have to support each other. And that's what I'm doing now. It's dangerous to be around me, you know this. You should be mature enough to understand that I'm doing this for you."

When Hanabi refused to look at her, Hinata knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with her right now. All she could do was kiss her sister on the head whispering, "Say hi to dad from me," before closing the door.

"Thank you for doing this," she said to Neji who only nodded before getting into the car.

* * *

It had been five minutes since they left the house and Hanabi already knew something wasn't right. Leaning forward until her head was in between the front seats, she looked at her cousin's expressionless face.

"You do realize the Suna is the opposite was, right?"

He didn't answer her which annoyed her to no end, "Look if you're kidnapping me, it's fine with me. Just ask for Konohamaru when stating the price. We both win that way and-"

The car went into an abrupt halt causing Hanabi to crash back into her seat. Before she had a chance to scream at him for being insane, the door next to her opened and a blond boy went in, followed by a black haired one. On her other side settled the boy she had seen the other day with Neji- Sasuke she remembered. Another guy settled on the front seat before Neji took off again.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the girl almost frantically, now squished between three guys.

"Relax," reassured the blonde boy. "We're just keeping Neji company since he'll be lonely on the way back."

On her other side Sasuke snorted but otherwise kept quiet. Naruto only glared at him before turning back to the young girl with a wide grin, "I'm Naruto by the way." The blond pointed to the guy next to him, "This is Sai." Said boy smiled a fake smile at the girl only to make her shudder. Good this he wasn't sitting next to her because he had strange aura around him.

Naruto ignored Hanabi's uneasy expression and introduced the boy sitting at the front with Neji. "This is Shikamaru. And you already know Sasuke I suppose."

How could she forget him? Her stomach was about to burst every time he accidentally brushed his arm against hers when the care turned a corner. The only thing that kept her sane was Konohamaru's face.

"You look a lot like Hinata," commented Naruto after a few moments of awkward silence. Why was he the only one trying to break it was beyond her. But if the Blondie wanted to talk Hanabi would talk.

"You know my sister?" she asked innocently. Thank god those guys didn't know her well because if they did her voice would alarm them.

"Yeah, I do," answered Naruto almost immediately and Hanabi didn't miss Neji's hands tightening around the wheel. Just what the hell is going on here?

"You like her?" she asked, again with that innocent voice. She crossed her arms and leaned back on her seat, looking directly at him. Just the way he was struggling for an answer was enough to amuse Hanabi. With just a simple question she managed to learn everything that's going on between them. But something inside her wanted to push Naruto and Neji to their limit.

"Are you going to be my brother in law?"

The screeching of the breaks prevented anybody from answering the bold question. Neji got out of the car announcing that he'll get something from the gas station. Beside her Sasuke tried to hide his smirk while looking outside the window. Apparently, he too was aware of the situation and found it as entertaining as she did.

Shikamaru turned around to face her with a knowing look on his face, "You sure are bold… and sneaky."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure." He drawled and Hanabi scoffed. He had some nerve to talk to her like that. But she let it pass since she had more interesting things to do…like fluster Naruto.

"You didn't answer my question…"

"Now I understand why Hinata wanted Neji to get you to Suna." called out Shikamaru not even bothering to turn around anymore. "You are one evil little brat."

"Do us a favor and don't say another word until we arrive."

This time it was Sasuke who said it. And Hanabi couldn't help but comply. Anyways, she had her fun at least for a while.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Hyuuga residence, Neji immediately disappeared to meet his uncle but not before telling them to snoop around the house for something interesting. Better to have a backup plan in case Hiashi doesn't spill the beans.

The house was indeed huge, bigger than they expected. How are you supposed to snoop around a house bigger the mall in Konoha? After flustering the maids when the fumbled in the kitchen and then ending up in the back yard the guys finally found something interesting.

"They used to spend a lot of time here," explained Hanabi when they entered a huge hall-like room with couches and a big TV. It was clear that girls hung out here since there were still some plushies scattered and a few articles of clothing hanging around.

"It's really quiet without them running around the house. They used to sleep here too. But now nobody comes here." continued the girl before looking at her wrist clock. "Well, it was nice to meet you but now I have to sneak out of the house." With that Hanabi was gone.

"Well she sure it unique" commented Naruto before entering the room. It was like nobody had left which was impossible because it's been more than a moth since the girls had moved to Konoha. The first this that draws the attention were the numerous pictures hanging on the walls. Not even one resembled the others.

"Those girls really are cam-whores." blurted out Sai, as bold as always. Sasuke glared at him but dismissed the uncalled for comment.

"It seems like they had been in a hurry to leave." observed Shikamaru while picking up a discarded skirt from one of the couches.

Sasuke moved around the room, only observing but not really touching anything. It felt weird to be in this room. It felt like a totally different world. It was really surprising that the girls he knew actually lived here. It was just so bright and…girly. The girls he knew weren't anything like that.

Sasuke spotted an interesting picture hanging on one of the walls and started walking over to it. Before he could make two steps, his fool kicked a tennis ball and it rolled under the couch. The boy bent down to take it but instead of the ball he grabbed a small camera. He inspected it for a while, considering if he should search through it. Maybe it was too private and he shouldn't cross the boundaries. But the curiosity deep inside him urged him to look.

There was only one video on the DVD. And it was with Sakura.

The first thing he heard was Ino's voice.

'So Sakura, how's going on with your boyfriend.' Apparently, she was behind the camera, filming.

Sakura smiled an uneasy smile and looked to the side while talking, 'He's been really weird these past few weeks. Almost like a completely different person. He whispers when he talks on his cell phone and disappears suddenly while on a date. And at the same time he acts so possessively around my friends, not allowing me to talk to them…He is suffocating me. And the look in his eyes…' Finally Sakura looked at the camera with glassy eyes, 'Kimimaro scares me so much. I think he-'

The recording ended abruptly and Sasuke frowned. It was obvious that someone had interrupted.

A half an hour later Neji came back from his meeting with Hiashi. By the annoyed look on his face, it was evident that it didn't work out as planned.

On that way back home couldn't help but question Neji, "Do you know Kimimaro, by any chance?"

The Hyuuga, as well as the other boys, looked at him surprised.

"There was a boy like that in the neighborhood. I think he is the son of the current mayor of the town. Why?"

"Nothing really, I just…heard the maids talk about him."

Neji frowned at him but dismissed the subject.

* * *

**A/N:** _Done with the chapter! I know there isn't much of the girls here but at least the boys are getting somewhere. Anyways__**, R&R!!!!!**_


	7. Chapter 7: Cat and Mouse

**You Only Live Twice**

_**Chapter 7:**__** Cat and Mouse**_

_All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. __ - _**Anatole France**

**-

* * *

  
**

He didn't know why he was so curious about it. He wasn't actually that kind of person. Sasuke rarely cared about anything that didn't really have to do something with him. But something changed that day he went to the Hyuuga estate. And he didn't necessarily like it. In fact, he could barely recognize himself.

So here he was now, in front of his father's office trying to think of a way to ask him for information. Fugaku Uchiha was the chief of the town and a close figure to the Hokage – the mayor. Getting information from that man was almost impossible, ever if you were his son.

Sasuke knocked on the massive mahogany double doors and waited for his father's stern voice to grant him permission to enter. When he finally got it, the raven haired boy walked into the cozy office. Thanks to Sasuke's mother the place looked nice and in order. If it was up to his father, he would have settled for a desk and a chair. There were a few plants and a nice couch in front of the desk. A fireplace, unused for years, was located opposite of the desk and the bookcase, right behind the chair, was filled with papers and old records.

Even if his mother had tried to make the place cozy and welcoming, the mere presence of Fugaku was enough to freeze your blood. He was a strict person with cold eyes and he almost never smiled. Sasuke himself have never seen him. Itachi had told him that he had seen their father smile once when he found out his wife was pregnant with Sasuke.

The young Uchiha hardly believed this story as Fugaku showed little to no interest for him. He was more concerned chasing convicts and helping other families as though theirs was okay. Fugaku was often absent from home, spending most of his time in the police station and dealing with criminals. Sasuke never really understood him and never really tried.

"Sasuke," came Fugaku's stern, cold voice. "What brings you here? Are you in trouble?"

Of course his father would think he visited him only because he is in trouble.

"No," answered Sasuke and closed the double doors behind him. He didn't sit on the couch since he didn't plan to stick around for long.

"Then, is it Naruto in trouble?" Sasuke could almost smirk at that. It was often that his father had to go the police station to bust Naruto out and bring him to Minato.

"No," was Sasuke's answer again. "I came here to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Even if Fugaku wasn't looking up from the papers Sasuke knew he was listening.

"I need information about someone."

Immediately, Fugaku looked up from his paper work to look sharply at his son, "You know that it's forbidden to share that kind of information with anybody outside the police."

Sasuke nodded, not really surprised by the answer, "I know but it's really important."

Fugaku raised an eyebrow, "Who exactly is that important that you have to come and ask me?"

"Suna's mayor's son, Kimimaro."

Fugaku narrowed his eyes and stood up from his comfortable chair behind the desk. He moved around the desk, never breaking eye contact from his son. When he reached the front of the desk, he leaned on it and crossed his thick arms, "Why do you want to know anything about the son of the mayor of Suna?"

"I don't know yet."

"The hell you don't."

Sasuke sighed and contemplated on the thought to forget about everything and go to his room. He knew his father would want to know what was going on but Sasuke wasn't sure himself. He remembered Sakura's frightened face in that video, remembered the state their room was left at. It all seemed fishy, not to mention serious.

"Is somebody in trouble, Sasuke?" his father's question interrupted his thoughts. His expecting gaze locked with his and for a moment Sasuke wanted to tell everything and ask for advice from his father. But the cold gaze reminded him that Fugaku was rarely his father. He would probably get advice to tell everything or he knows so that he wouldn't get judged.

"Forget about it," dismissed Sasuke. "It's nothing."

With that he turned around and opened the massive double doors. His father's voice stopped him from closing them behind him.

"Sasuke," Fugaku's voice was still stern and for a moment Sasuke thought he was going to be interrogated. The boy didn't turn his body around but stopped to indicate he was listening. Fugaku's voice was lower but still cold when he spoke up, "I have an early meeting tomorrow. I might go to bed early and accidently leave my computer on. You'll turn it off for me won't you?"

Sasuke could barely hide his surprise. He turned his head to look at Fugaku who was going around the desk to sit again. His father didn't look at him again which meant he wasn't discussing the situation further.

With a small smirk Sasuke closed the double doors and went to see his mother.

* * *

When morning came and Sasuke went to his father's office, he still didn't expect to see the computer on. Last night's conversation still seemed surreal to him but when he entered the room, he was proved wrong.

Closing the massive doors behind him as silently as he could, he went around the desk and sat on the chair. The data base was open as if waiting for him. Working quickly on the key board he cursed when around one thousand people named Kimimaro appeared on the screen.

It took him abound an hour to find the exact person he was looking for. When Sasuke opened the file, he almost fell off the chair. Most of the information wasn't official and probably only his father and few other people had it. And it wasn't pretty.

Gambling, drug dealing, stealing, alcohol. There wasn't a thing that guy hadn't done. He should have been in jail if not for his father's position. But that wasn't the most interesting part of all. The guy had been working in the Hyuuga Company as an assistant to the head. Wasn't the head of the company Neji's uncle and Hinata's father? Wasn't that guy Sakura's boyfriend? Did they even know about this? Was this why they were running away?

He hoped that the information he got would solve everything in his head but it did just the opposite. More and more questions started popping in his head. Maybe it was time he told the other guys about this. Since Neji knew the guy, there was possibility that he could solve everything that was missing.

Sasuke pulled out a flash drive and copied the files onto it. He was sure his father didn't have that in mind when he let him go through his computer but now he could care less. Something told him that danger was coming their way in the speed of sound.

Shoving a few random books, Sasuke went out of the house and towards school where he hopped to get answers.

His mother, Mikoto, watched with worried eyes as he pulled out of the driveway and soon disappeared from the view, "Just what is going on?"

* * *

When Sakura arrived at school she knew something's going to happen today, and not necessarily good. Ever since she got out of the van at the school parking lot, she felt eyes on her. Looking around she saw nothing but kids talking to each other, couples kissing, a few guys pushing each other. Everything around her screamed normal. And that fact itself was what made her uneasy.

The other thing was that Neji and his company wasn't around to bug them like usual. It seemed like the other girls picked it up too as they looked around, expecting to see them anytime. Sasuke's car was already parked which meant he and Naruto were already in the school. Neji's was also there but nobody was around.

"Do any of you have a weird feeling or I'm just paranoid?" asked Tenten, as she stared at Neji's car.

"No, I have it too," nodded Ino with a grim expression but it soon turned into a grin. "But that doesn't mean you aren't usually paranoid."

Tenten tore her eyes from the shiny care to glare at the grinning blonde, "I am _not_ paranoid."

Ino gave her an 'are-you-serious' look, "Oh, right. So it was Hinata who thought that aliens took her hairbrush so they could copy her DNA and make clones of her that would later take over the world. And it was only under the table."

"Not funny. I almost got a heart attack." Countered Tenten and stuck her tongue.

Sakura laughed at her friends' antics but the funny feeling that somebody was watching her didn't go away. She looked around once more and finally met the stare that had bothered her since her arrival.

Idate was staring at her from across the parking lot. She often caught him staring at them which unnerved her. At first, she thought he had a crush on one of the girls but he didn't look at them with adoration or affection. His eyes were narrowed and calculative and even a bit scary. It was almost as if he was monitoring them. Or maybe she was just paranoid and jumpy.

Yeah, that must be it. Brushing all thoughts aside she turned to her friends only to find Ino and Tenten in each other's faces. Hinata was quietly trying to break them up while Temari was having fun watching them. It was time for Sakura to separate them, before they caused a scene.

* * *

"So why are we here again an hour before school starts?" asked Naruto as he looked over the rail of the school roof top. The parking lot down was empty, which is the first time he'd seen it like that. Maybe it was because he'd never been so early for school. Usually he was late.

"Because Sasuke wants to tell us something," answered Shikamaru, half asleep. It was a surprise that he was actually here since he had hard time waking up early in the morning.

"I know that but couldn't he use the phone. I feel like a chick waiting for the latest gossip in the school," whined the blond and looked around for his dark haired friend. "Where's he anyway?"

"I'm right here, idiot," came Sasuke's voice from the door. He was holding something in his hand; probably the thing he went to fetch from his locker. He went to Neji first and handed it to him without a word.

It was a small camera. Neji turned it on and started the only clip on the memory card. Sasuke finally spoke up while the video rolled, "I found this in the room we were looking around."

The other guys circled around Neji to get a better view. When the video was over pale eyes looked up from the display to meet onyx ones. "Why did you hide this when I asked you if you found something?"

"I wasn't sure if it was something important."

"And what changed your mind?"

Sasuke pulled out a flash drive from his pocket and gave it to Shikamaru, "I looked up the guy Sakura was talking about in the police database. Everything's in there but I couldn't put two and two together so maybe you should try."

Naruto gaped while Shikamaru inspected the little device, "How did you get to your dad's computer?"

Sasuke smirked and turned around to go down the stairs, "Miracle."

The remaining guys looked after him with raised brows but followed. Neji stood behind for a few more seconds, looking at the small camera in his hands, before following his friends. This was one step closer to finding out want was going on and all thanks to Sasuke. But that didn't excuse him from keeping it away from him.

* * *

The last thing Sai expected to see when he entered the art supply was to see a blonde girl struggling to reach up to one of the higher shelves. And it wasn't just a blonde girl, it was Ino. She was muttering something to herself the he couldn't quite get but he was sure she was cursing her height.

Without making a sound he leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms. He smirked as she tried to jump to get the item she wanted and in the process knocked down a few of the other supplies on the ground. After cursing some more she bent down to pick them up and put them back on their place. But that also proved to be impossible.

Feeling a bit sorry for her he decided to make his presence known, "Do you need any help?"

Ino let out a startled shriek and dropped the item she had just gathered. She turned around with such panic in her eyes that he was almost taken aback. Sai didn't expect her to get so scared. But as soon as she saw him, her fear disappeared and her expression changed to one of relief and then one of annoyance.

"Don't sneak up on people like that. You almost gave me a heart attack."

The trembling hand she put over her heart was enough proof. He briefly wondered if that video had something to do with her jumpiness.

"Sorry, but you seemed so preoccupied you didn't notice me at all."

She blushed a little at the comment wondering how ridiculous she might have looked. But Sai found himself liking that scarlet color on her cheeks. A sneaky plan formed in his head.

"Let me help you as an apology," he offered and before Ino could turn him down he was behind her. She wasn't sure why he was there but he was close, so very close. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, making the fine hairs stand up. How was he supposed to help her like that?

Her mental question was answered when he sneaked his large hands around her waist and lifted her up. Ok, that was a way to help her. But he could have also just taken the supplies and put them in their place by himself. Her fingers trembled as she hurried to put everything back into place and take the needed item.

When she was ready, he deliberately slid her down his own body slowly. Her eyes almost rolled at the back of her head. This might as well be the hottest moment in her life. Her feet hit the floor but didn't hold her up. By know she felt like jelly in his arms and he loved it.

She turned around with a bit effort and looked into the deep onyx eyes. Something in her snapped and she didn't feel like herself anymore. Her cheeks were flushed, her fine hairs all over her body were standing up and a familiar heat was forming in her lower belly.

"Kiss me," she whispered before she could contemplate what was going on. He was more than happy to oblige. He dived in and she welcomed him eagerly, tongues battling for dominance. His mouth was perfect on hers and Ino's eyes rolled at the back of her head yet again. She had done this before but she'd never felt something like this with anyone else. His roaming hands weren't helping the situation any better and before she could stop herself she moaned.

Sai smirked, seeming to like the sound and started working on another way to make that heavenly sound.

"Oh my god," she whispered when his kisses traveled from her mouth to her neck. But just when she thought the knot in her stomach was going to come undone he stopped. Opening her eyes she looked at him questioningly.

"I need to know something, " he said through heavy pants.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

He gripped her waist tighter and buried his head in her neck yet again. For a moment she thought he had changed his mind and was going to continue but he spoke up.

"What happened the night you left Suna?"

Ino froze and suddenly reality came back crushing on her. She pushed his shoulders and tried to move away but he held her firmly.

"I don't know what you are talking about. We just moved. There isn't anything behind it. Just because Neji thinks there is doesn't make it true."

"I know there's something."

Ino found it hard to breathe and felt claustrophobic. Bad memories came back to life and suddenly she wanted to cry.

"Let me go now," she whispered and looked away, trying to hide the tears. She pushed harder at his shoulders and he finally relented. Pushing his as far away as possible she circled him and exited the room.

Sai looked at the empty place between him and the wall where Ino had been just seconds ago. The only thing he could think of was what an idiot he was.

* * *

Shikamaru Nara never had any problems tracing someone. If somebody wanted to find something they went to him. He was the person for any kind of information you were seeking.

Yet the guy mentioned on Sakura's video was untraceable. It was like he didn't exist. And he was supposed to be a pretty popular guy, being the son of Suna's mayor. Sure he was mentioned here and there but there wasn't any specific information that proved to be useful.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru and leaned back on his office chair. He had spent two hours researching and came out with nothing. And that was what made him twitchy and worried. If Shikamaru Nara couldn't find information about that guy then he must be something dangerous. Something dangerous that's backed up with authority.

Shikamaru figured that the mayor was covering everything for his son; that was obvious. But what the genius wanted to know is what they were hiding.

He was already getting a headache and Neji and Sasuke's constant calling wasn't helping him at all. He knew they were worried and wanted to know what's going on but putting pressure on him wasn't such a good idea.

Shikamaru Nara didn't like challenge. He just wanted to slack off on the bed or go out in the park to watch clouds. He usually stayed away from trouble. But today something in him changed.

* * *

When Temari returned home she excused herself from dinner and went straight to her room. She was sure she wasn't a good company right now.

Dropping her bag at the foot of the bed, she slumped down on the bed and just stared off into nothing. It has been a few months since they had been living in Konoha. Everything seemed to get back to normal- the girls were starting to be their energetic selves again; a few new friends were entering their life.

Yet Temari didn't feel like she was a part of that change. Memories still haunted her mind, nightmares woke her up in the middle of the night, and paranoia consumed her. She knew she would never be the same again, she would never have back what was taken from her. She would never have piece, she would never be free.

Temari always told herself she would never cry. Tears were useless, the only made you weaker. And weakness is something Temari resented ever since she was a little girl. He father had taught her and her two brothers to never show fear. He had imprinted on her brain that only the strongest survived.

Oh, he would probably roll in his own grave if he saw her running and hiding like a mouse.

A beeping sound from her laptop snapped her out of her thoughts. She had almost forgotten that she had left the thing on before going to school.

Even though the girl didn't want to move the beeping continued and whoever was writing to her was persistent. Sitting up from her comfortable bed, she pulled the computer on her lap and clicked on the orange window.

The user was unknown but that wasn't the strange thing. The message he or she had left sent shivers down her spine.

**Shikotsumyaku:** Hey

**Shikotsumyaku:** You there?

**Shikotsumyaku:** I know you are

**Shikotsumyaku:** Don't try to hide from me, Temari

Temari stared at the nickname for a while. She had never seen it before but he seemed to know her which freaked her out.

**Tbiatch:** Who are you?

**Shikotsumyaku:** That doesn't matter…

**Shikotsumyaku:** What matters is that I have found you…

Temari's blood froze. This couldn't be happening…she should wake up anytime now…anytime now…

**Shikotsumyaku:** And I'm coming…

* * *

**A/N:** _I know you probably hate me for not updating for so long but I am a senior and this is an important year for me. I'll be having exams for universities and that is stressing enough._

_Temari's nickname is awful I know but I couldn't think of anything else. Suggestions are acceptable._

_Anyways, hope you have not given up on my story and you would review. Long reviews make me happy and criticism is welcomed but no flames please._


	8. Chapter 8: The Cold Pale Green Eyes

**You Only Live Twice**

_Chapter __8__:__ The Cold Pale Green Eyes_

_**It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny. -Jean Nidetch**_

* * *

When everybody gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, Sakura knew something was very wrong with Temari. Said girl was jumpy all morning and Temari was never jumpy. The only time Sakura had seen her acting like that was that night…

The pink haired girl shook her head, refusing to go back to those memories. But still, there was definitely something very wrong with Temari. Not just because she was fidgeting in her seat or because she broke a plate and a glass. The blonde looked completely scared…out of her mind scared.

Sakura wanted to bring that up at the table but gave up on it the minute the thought crossed her mind. Temari wasn't going to come out and say that something was wrong in front of so many people. No…Temari liked to keep things to herself, she didn't like to show weakness. So Sakura kept her mouth shut. She would probably get a chance to be alone with her. Then she'll have the chance to know what exactly was going on.

"Hey, Sakura, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Tenten from her left, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. Sakura looked around to see that Sasori and Deidara had already left for work without her noticing. Hinata was doing the dishes while Ino was just exiting the kitchen, probably to do her make-up for school. Temari was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, sure."

They entered the living room and Tenten sat on the sofa. Sakura thought that the girl had noticed Temari's odd behavior too and was going to question her about it. But that was not the case.

"Did you see Neji or the other guys around yesterday?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow, totally caught off guard. But now that she thought about it, Neji and his crew hadn't bothered them at all yesterday. Well, someone was paying attention to it…

"I spotted them in a few of our classes but that was all. Haven't talked to them at all."

"Don't you find it weird…One day they are all over us asking questions and the next, they totally ignore you."

Sakura nodded, catching on to Tenten's implication, "You think they have something on their mind?"

The chestnut haired girl nodded, "I think we should keep an eye on them just in case they stick their noses in our business."

Sakura totally agreed with that. She turned her head to where Ino was descending the steps carrying her bag, "Hey, Ino, have you noticed anything strange about the guys yesterday?"

The platinum blonde froze in mid-step, almost falling down the remaining stairs. Both Sakura and Tenten raised their eyebrows at the clumsy display. Ino regained her balance and tried to act cool about it but they knew better than to believe the act.

"What do you mean exactly?" asked the blonde in a wary voice, trying to act uninterested in the topic.

"Have you talked to them? Have you noticed them acting strangely?" prompted Tenten looking at the blonde girl suspiciously. God, she was such a bad liar and an even worse actress.

"Nope."

Okay, something was definitely wrong with Ino. One, she totally brain-froze at the mention on the boys and two, she was trying to act uninterested in them which was ridiculous. Ino was always interested in boys.

When the platinum blonde was out of the room, Tenten looked at Sakura with a pointed look, "I'm on that. She totally hides something."

Sakura nodded, "Totally."

* * *

The first thing the girls noticed when they entered the parking lot was a huge crowd gathered in front of one of the walls of the school. What crossed Sakura's mind first was that some fight was taking place, but it was quickly dismissed since there weren't any shouting or grunting.

The girls squeezed through the whispering crowd. They could see something was on the wall…something red. Sakura's eyes widened when she finally saw it. Her blood froze as she read and reread the message that was written with red. Chills ran down her spine, her eyes widened her mouth dried.

There on the cream colored wall with bright red letters was a message. A message foreshadowing a disaster.

'I AM COMING'

Memories flooded Sakura's mind and she found herself again in Suna in that faithful night. The fear and anger in Temari's eyes, the tears in Hinata's, the confusion in Tenten's and the despair in Ino's. She remembered how she said goodbye to her father and didn't get a chance to say it to her mother. She remembered Temari crying and screaming as she called to her father and how Hinata was apologizing to her own.

It felt like it was yesterday when everything happened. The feelings and the memory were fresh in her mind. Sakura turned to her left to see Temari shaking violently. She was looking at the message with wide eyes and clutching her bag to herself. Then she turned her eyes to the pink haired girl and held them for a moment. Then, as if she had been burned, the blonde turned around and started running.

Ino went after her but Sakura stayed paralyzed on her spot in the front of the crowd. The pink haired girl knew it was hard for Temari to forget what happened. It might never go away. It might wake her up in the middle of the night for the rest of her life. But Temari would bear it silently and on her own.

That's why Sakura didn't follow her friend. Ino shouldn't have either, but Sakura understood why she did. Ino always wanted to be there for her friends. She wanted Temari back to normal, she wanted to go back home, she wanted to see her parents, she just wanted to leave Konoha – not because it was a bad place but because it represented prison in her mind. Ino had always been a free bird. She flirted, she laughed, she played with fire and that's what made her feel alive. Konoha wasn't a place where she could do that. She was never going to be free even if she went to the edge of the world because the memories would haunt her forever. She would always want to return to Suna, to her carefree life.

A tap on the shoulder brought Sakura back to the present. Startled to death, she whirled around fast expecting to see dead green eyes. But instead she met emotionless onyx ones that somehow made her feel safe.

Uchiha Sasuke stared down at her, almost as if he was looking down on her. If Sakura hadn't been so scared at that moment, she would have snapped at him. But for the first time she didn't feel like arguing with him.

"You are shaking," he stated, his voice sounding like that of the news announcer on TV, emotionless.

"It's a bit cold today," she answered and started to go past him. She had a feeling he was going to stick his nose in her business again and ask her more questions.

"It's 23 degrees today. Not cold enough to be shaking," he said as he went after her, falling into a step with her.

"I think I've caught a cold."

"Then you should have stayed at home."

She scowled at him but didn't reply. She didn't have energy to put up a fight.

He seemed to notice her unresponsiveness, "But since you are at school at this state, I have no choice."

The first thing Sakura thought was that he was high. But then he took her bag from her shoulder and slung it carelessly on his as if he was doing something natural like drinking water.

"When are you going to ask me about this?" she asked jabbing her finger behind her where the crowd was still growing.

He only shrugged, "You'll do it on your own."

Sakura highly doubted that.

* * *

Hinata squeezed through the crowd, trying to keep track on Sakura. Tenten had disappeared somewhere right after Temari ran away. Right now she didn't want to be alone even for a second. When she finally managed to get out, she saw her friend walking with Sasuke and they seemed to be sharing something intimate. Hinata definitely didn't want to intervene in that.

Just when she decided that she would walk a little bit behind them but not interrupting their moment, a hand grabbed her shoulder a bit too roughly. Panic rose in her, as the hand spun her around, and a scream was ready to come out of her mouth. But it was stopped before it even came out.

The hand that was covering her mouth was huge compared to her face and it prevented her from seeing who her captor was. Her pulse drummed in her ears and she felt like she was about to faint.

Just when she was about to lose consciousness, the hand uncovered her face and Hinata's pale eyes met with Naruto's blue ones.

He looked genuinely concerned when he asked, "Are you ok? I called you a million times."

Still feeling light headed she panted, "I didn't hear you."

"Sorry about my hand on your mouth. I didn't want you to scream."

Still shaky, Hinata nodded but was unable to say anything. Not only she was scared to death right now, but this was also the first time they talked after what happened at the party. It couldn't have gotten any worse than that.

Naruto seemed to have felt the uneasiness in her as he looked at anything but her. Hinata wasn't sure if Naruto remembered anything from that night, but his behavior now gave indication that he did.

The blonde spotted Sasuke and Sakura walking ahead and leaped at the chance to start a conversation.

"Seems like those two are finally getting along."

Hinata looked at their direction and shook her head, "I wouldn't jump into conclusions. Sakura is very unpredictable."

Naruto grinned and looked back at her, "So is Sasuke."

And then it was more silence. The blonde inwardly groaned – just when he thought they got through the awkward part. But he couldn't blame her for her nervousness in his presence. Hell, he was a nerve wreck himself and it was all his fault. If he hadn't been so reckless back at the party and waited for a better moment, things might have gone a completely different way. And on top of that, he barely had any sleep because he was afraid Neji will come for his balls.

God, he was such an idiot. If Jiraya found out how badly he had fucked up, the old pervert would probably have a fit. Naruto imagined it in his head so clearly.

'Haven't I taught you better?' he would say and Naruto would make a disgusted face and retort.

'Somehow, I doubt she would appreciate me inviting her to watch my porn collection with me.'

The blonde shuddered and stopped that thought before it developed into something that would require him to take a cold shower.

Looking back at the girl next to him and wished that she would just speak up her mind for once. But she was too modest, too shy, too insecure. But she was also too kind, too gentle, too beautiful.

Suddenly, Naruto's mood darkened. What was he in comparison to her? Loud and obnoxious, hasty and reckless, rough and a bit perverted ('Thanks, Jiraya!'). It's not like she would even look his way if he wasn't friends with her cousin. She has to be nice to him. But then again, she was nice to everybody, including said cousin who was acting like a prick towards her.

All desire to talk to her about the accident vanished. What was the point anyways. She acted like nothing happened and refused to bring it up so why would he. She obviously didn't want anything to do with him.

* * *

Temari ran where her feet took her. Her whole body was shaking so violently that she barely stood upright. She needed to go somewhere isolated, crouch on the floor, put her head between her knees and breathe deeply.

Trying not to crash into any of the students, Temari looked around for a spare room. For fifteen minutes now she had no luck. Most of the classrooms were already filled and those who not were full with unused desks and chairs.

She was getting desperate by the minute. Than was until she saw the janitor walking out of one room. It wasn't a classroom or his closet so Temari figured it was going to be empty. She broke off into a sprint and gunned for the room- for her sanity.

Only when she was behind the closed door did she allow herself to let go. Her shaking increased and the tears she tried so desperately to hold back streamed down her face. She leaned on the wall on the opposite of the door and slid down to a crouching position. Through the sobs, she tried to breathe deeply but it didn't work. Her head was starting to spin and she could barely take a breath. The hands of her past were strangling her throat, not allowing her to forget about her unfortunate life even for a minute.

Temari knew all too well who wrote the message on that wall. She saw the same thing on her computer screen just last night and it didn't allow her to get sleep at all. He was here again, bringing all the problems and trouble with him. And just when she was letting herself believe she could escape. There was no escape from faith.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't feel the door opening. Nor did she hear the footsteps the neared her. The thing that told her that she wasn't alone in the room was the smell of tobacco. He smelled the same.

Panic rose in Temari and she felt her heart beating so fast it was about to burst out of her chest. A hand clamped on her shoulder and it was all it took for her to scream. She slapped the hand away and blindly reached for anything on the ground to throw at the stranger. The girl couldn't hear anything but her own hear beating and couldn't see anything because of her panic.

She found a few plastic bottles on the shelf next to her and blindly hurled them at him. A bucket followed them and after it a cardboard box. When she could reach anything else she went for her back. Before she could throw it at him her shoulders were caught and squeezed. Then her whole body was being shaken.

"Temari, snap out of it!"

The voice that pierced her thoughts was familiar but not in the way she expected. What was meant to be a gruff and unpleasant voice was actually a deep and soothing one.

"Temari!" he called again. Forcing herself to take deep breaths and calm down, she opened her eyes and looked up at the stranger. Relief washed over her as she met the deep brown eyes of none other than Shikamaru.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he loosened the grip on her shoulders but didn't let go.

Temari didn't answer, just stared at his face. Tears, that had stopped when she felt his presence, started streaming down her face again. Before she could stop them, the sobs came out too.

She felt so weak breaking down in front of him but she couldn't hold it in. Wrapping her arms around him, she brought her body closer to his and buried her wet face in the crook of his neck. He stiffened for a second, not knowing what to do. But as he listened to her sobs and felt her tears on his skin, he gradually returned her hug and allowed her to let it all out.

After half an hour her crying stopped and she let go of him. When Shikamaru took a look at her face, he immediately knew it was something serious. Without thinking, his hand came up and brushed the tears on her cheeks. Temari flinched and moved away from his touch, brushing them with her own hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked again as the question seemed to have been forgotten.

She nodded absent-mindedly and moved to stand up. Shikamaru followed her suit, not really knowing how to act in a situation like that, and caught her when she wobbled on her still shaky legs.

"You can't go to class like this," he said pointing at her face. It came out harsher than he intended it to be. "I mean you aren't well enough to go into class."

When Temari's legs were strong enough to hold her steady, she reached for her bag while completely ignoring him.

"I'll just take you home."

"No!" shouted Temari and looked at him with wild eyes. "I can't be alone right now."

Shikamaru frowned. What had gotten her so shaky and scared all of the sudden. Usually she seemed like the girl who wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. Whatever got her so frightened was going to be serious. And he intended to find out about it however troublesome it could be.

"I'll stay with you."

Temari sopped her fussing and just stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds. Then her tired and still moist face softened.

"Thank you."

Behind the small crack of the door Ino smiled warmly and left before anybody had noticed her.

* * *

When Temari didn't enter the first period, Sakura really started to worry. Ino was nowhere to be seen too. Tenten had appeared during the middle of class. The guys were all in except for Shikamaru. And that was what worried her. She knew he was in school because she saw him in the crowd outside. The anxiety got better of her and she swallowed her pride.

Turning around when the teacher had his back to the class, Sakura faced none other than Uchiha Sasuke, "Where is your friend?"

When she got only raised browns in reply, she elaborated, "Shikamaru?"

Still looking uninterested, he looked around the classroom. Sakura raised a brow. Did he really not notice that his friend was missing?

"No idea," he replied finally.

"But he is your friend. How can you have noticed? Aren't you worried?"

"Do I look like his dad?"

Just when she was about to shoot him a nasty reply, a voice from the front of the room boomed, "Miss Haruno, could you please grant me the wish to see your face."

Rolling her eyes and glaring at Sasuke, who looked smug at that moment, Sakura turned around and forced a sweet smile at Asuma-sensei, "Sorry, sensei."

By the time the bell rang, Sakura was practically bouncing on her seat. She flew out of the room immediately, not waiting for Tenten and Hinata. Dumping her books in her locker, she raced down the stairs in search of her friends. Outside the school the yard was already filling with students. Walking on her tiptoes, she looked around for any signs of Either Temari or Ino.

Just when she caught a glimpse of a dark blonde hair and was ready to call out, a voice interrupted her. A voice that sent chills down her spine, "Finally, I found you."

Sakura's heartbeat drummed in her ears and cold sweat broke out her body. He was here. He found them. Turning around slowly and praying that this was a nightmare, she met icy pale green eyes.

"I told you I was coming."

Sakura felt she died that same moment.

* * *

**A/N:** _Another cliffhanger. I know you hate me but you'll find out more stuff next chapter. I don't know how much it would take me to update but I'll try my best. Reviews have always inspired me especially when they are long. So if you have time to spare leave me one._

_See you next time!_


	9. Chapter 9: No return

**You Only Live Twice**

_Chapter __9: No return_

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."-Ashley Smith

* * *

In her panicked state, Sakura didn't know what else to do except run. And run to the opposite direction from Temari for he was here for her. Her feet took off in a dead run and she heard his footsteps right behind her. But Sakura kept running, dodging students who were passing by, trying to blend into the crowd in attempt to escape him.

But he was right behind her all the time. Never losing sight of her, like always. They have all been in the palm of his hand the whole time. He had been playing with them, having fun while they shivered and shook every night before falling asleep, if they managed. They had never been free of him, not for a second.

Her first thought was to go into the school but she quickly discarded it. He was a dangerous person and there was no need to involve more people into this mess. The parking lot seemed like better idea; maybe she could get to the car…the keys weren't with her. The tears in her eyes broke free and slipped down her cheeks. Students were looking at her strangely. Nut he was still behind her. Would someone help her?

The parking lot was empty. Which was good…right? Nobody will be hurt and nobody would see her dying. They would just find her body, sprawled on the cold cement in her own blood. And the person who did it- gone. Temari and the girls would take off again, try to find another place to stay until he found the again and killed another one of them.

Sakura took a sharp turn to the left. There was something like an alley and although it screamed dead end to her, Sakura went for it. And she was right – it was a dead end.

Touching the concrete fall that prevented her from escaping, she closed eyes and breathed deeply. God, there were so many thing she wanted to do, to say. She wanted to go to that trip with her mom and meet her hippie friends, do the weird stuff they always did. She wanted to apologize to her father for all the trouble and problems she brought home. She wanted to finish high school, good to the medical school Tsunade taught in, get married, and have kids. She wanted to see her friends succeed in life, shared the best moments with them. Punch Neji at least once, get to know Sasuke a bit more…

"Turn around, Sakura. I want to see your face," said the voice behind her. It was the same as before, cold and menacing.

She obeyed, turning around slowly and opening her eyes to meet gold green ones. Her tears stopped and her face hardened. If she was going to die now, she was going to do with dignity, even if it was in a dark smelly alley.

"Kimimaro," she answered her voice strong and steady.

He smiled then, a menacing smile that still sent shivers down her spine, "You haven't changed since the last time I saw you." As he started walking towards her, Sakura stiffened but didn't move from her spot. When he was standing so close she could feel he breath on her face, his hand reached up and stroked her still moist cheek, "You face was covered in tears last time I saw you. I kind of enjoyed that view."

"Why are you here?' she asked even though she knew the answer all too well. But then again she was buying time. For what, she didn't know.

Kimimaro laughed again; he was really enjoying this. Sick Bastard.

"Why to see you, of course. After all, you were on of my favorites. Don't you remember? All those nights we spent together, having fun."

Sakura's gut lurched, "Just do what you came here for and leave."

"Oh, I will. But first I need to ask you a few questions." His eyes leveled with hers, his menacing smile disappeared," Where is Temari?"

"I don't know," was her immediate answer.

Kimimaro barked a laugh, "Don't even start playing that game with me. You know I'm not a very patient person. I'm sure you remember."

How could she forget? The worst thing was she stood there watching, not knowing what to do while he was doing whatever he wanted.

"I'll ask again. Where is Temari? Just answer the damn question and this will end quickly, I promise."

He promises? If she wasn't so scared, Sakura could have laughed. But this was hardly a situation for laughing. If she learned one thing from him, it was to never believe anything he said.

Then it occurred to her. Those were her last moments. She could do anything she wished. There wasn't anything worse that could happen.

Drawing courage from that thought, Sakura lifted her head high and watched him down her nose even though he was so much taller and bigger than her. With a smug smirk, she spit at his face and said, "Go to hell, bastrad."

Slowly whipping off the spit on his face, Kimimaro glared down at the girl, "Never mind. She can't be that far away from you. When I find her, I'll torture her, have my fun. And when I'm done with her, I'll go for Hinata. The other two I'll leave to my crew. They enjoyed them last time if I remember correctly."

Sakura's blood boiled. Without thinking, she swung her right fist and connected it with his jaw. Kimimaro's head whipped around so fast it almost broke his neck. He stood like this for a second before turning back around to look at her, rubbing his now sore jaw.

"I almost forgot you had a mean right hook. I guess this is the only thing you'll be remembered for."

With that he swung his own fist and connected it with her temple. Sakura fell to the ground with a gasp and clutched her throbbing head. A kick went right to her stomach and all of the air was forced out of her. Coughing, she tried to get up, take the beating with pride but he didn't let her. He continued to hit her, with fists and kicks until she couldn't take a breath.

Then he pulled out a gun from under his trench coat and pointed it at her. Sakura closed her eyes, waiting f for it to come. She wasn't going to fight. She was already so tired of life. It was going to end any second now. And she was sorry because Temari would have fought, Ino too. Hell, even Hinata would. But note her. Not Sakura. At least not the Sakura from the last month. The other four would manage without her. They were fighters and she was just bringing trouble to them, ruining their lives. Wasn't all this her fault after all? She deserved to die.

She heard the soft clicking sound of the gun and knew it was coming.

"I'll say hi to Temari from you," he said and she knew he was butting his finger on the trigger.

But the gun never fired, even after five seconds. Was he playing games again? He was too angry to do that now. So why stop?

When she cracked one eye open, instead of two feet she saw four. Had Kimimaro called one of his so called friends? What else could they do to her?

Then she heard a grunt and Kimimaro slumped down to the ground next to her, unmoving. Frowning, even though even that hurt, she tried to lift her head up and look at the newcomer but failed. The boots started coming in her direction and she panicked. Who was this person who knocked Kimimaro out so easily?

"Sakura?"

Wait… she knew that voice. Sasuke?

"Sakura? Do you hear me?"

She felt him touch her shoulder and push her on her side. Sakura Hisses in pain as she fell on her back.

"I'll check if you have something broken. Okay?"

When she only looked at Kimimaro's body just a few centimeters away from them, he shook his head, "He's not going to wake up for at least 10 minutes."

While he checked for any serious injuries, she head filled with panicked thought. What had Sasuke heard? Did he know what was going on? Did he know what he was getting himself into by saving her? Probably not or he wouldn't have helped her. He wasn't the person who cared about people much. So why did he do this?

"There's nothing broken or serious. Just a few bruises that'll need to be washed and bandaged."

Sakura nodded and tried to get up but failed again. Her sides were killing her. How many minutes have passed already?

"I'll carry you. We'll take my car and go to the hospital."

"No hospital. That's the first place he'll look."

He frowned at her but didn't say anything. Sneaking his hands beneath her back and knees, he lifted her up effortlessly. Sakura looked down once again at the sprawled form of Kimimaro. She could end this right now. The gun was lying right there next to his left hand.

"We should call the police," came Sasuke's voice and stopped the thought before it really started to appeal to her.

Sakura shook he head, still looking at the boy on the ground, "Don't bother. He'll be out before you know it and even more angry." Then she finally looked at the boy who saved her and suddenly felt pain in her chest that was not from the beating, "You shouldn't have saved me."

* * *

The ride back to Temari's place was quiet and awkward. Apart from the occasional sniffing coming out from the girl, everything was silent. And that usually was how Shikamaru like it. But not now.

What had gotten Temari to break down? She was usually the tough girl in the group yet she cried for half an hour in his arms. And judging by her behavior right now, staring out of the window and not uttering a word, he knew she was awkward and feeling totally vulnerable.

What had her so upset? Shikamaru racked through his brain, trying to find anything unusual that had happened today. It seemed pretty normal for him…except from the message on the wall of the school. He frowned and took a glance at Temari but, as always, she was turned away from him.

Could that be the reason? Did she know who actually did this? Was he coming for her?

"If you want to ask something just do it. You are burning a hole in the back of my head and not paying attention to the road," she said but didn't look at him. Her eyes were still too red and her face to swollen to show him her face.

Shikamaru turned his head back to the road, "It's the message, isn't it? The thing that got you all shaken up. You know who did it."

"Yes," came her immediate answer. She didn't know what made her tell him the truth. Maybe she just needed to tell somebody. Let it out.

"The message was for you. Someone is here to get you. The thing you won't tell us is the reason for all this. Am I right?"

Temari scowled. No need to tell him anything. He was figuring it out all on his own. Damn his high IQ.

"Yes, you are."

"But you still won't tell what that secret is. Judging from all this, you've been on the run for a while. It must be something big."

He had no idea. Because it he did, he wouldn't be digging deeper into this matter.

"If you know what's good for you, you'd stop sniffing around and forget about it. This isn't some high school game," she warned, hoping that it was enough to spook him a bit. He didn't seem like that type who would get scared so easily. But he did seem like the type who didn't like to get into trouble.

"I figured that much," he said as he took a left turn and started driving on the street her house was at. "And usually I could care less. But this is different. I'll definitely find out what's going on."

Temari almost smiled. Turning her head around for the first time since the got in the car, she said, "Be careful of what you say or do. It might cost you your life."

He looked at her and they held gazes for a few seconds- hers warning him and his challenging her.

When he pulled up in the driveway, Temari felt more uneasy than safe. Something was not right. Shikamaru unbuckled his seat belt but she stood still. He looked at her strangely, "Aren't you getting out?"

Before she could answer his question and express her concern, her phone rang. Startled at first, she dug into her bag, fearing who was the caller. Maybe he knew her number now and was calling her to terrorize her even more.

She was relieved to see it was only Sakura. The girl was probably worried sick about her by now. Pushing the answer button, she said, "Hello?"

"Temari? Where are you?" came Sakura's worried voice. Something was really wrong.

"I wasn't feeling well so Shikamaru took me home. Are you okay?"

Sakura ignored the question, "Did you go in the house?"

Temari frowned at the weird question, "Not yet. We are about to."

"Don't go in. Get out from there right now."

"Why? What's going on?"

There was a brief silence before Sakura answered, "I think you know."

Temari's heart was going to burst out of her chest. She was pretty sure she was pale as a ghost right now. So it was true. He really was here. He came…for them.

"Wh-where should we go?" she asked, her voice shaking from fear. Was someone waiting for them in the house?

There was another pause and Temari heard Sakura talking to someone. A guy? Was she with Sasuke? When she came back on the phone, Sakura said, "Tell Shikamaru to get out of there and come to Sasuke's place. Fast."

Temari gave the instructions to Shikamaru. He was about to start asking questions but she shot him a glare that clearly made him think twice about it. The tires screeched as he maneuvered the car backwards and drove off.

"What about the others. Are they okay?" asked Temari as she looked out of the window. Her heart dropped when she saw a movement in the curtains in Sakura's room. Neither Sasori nor Deidara was home at that time. Someone else was in the house and had been clearly waiting for them.

"I called that just now. They are on their way here too. Neji, Naruto and Sai are with them."

The call ended and Temari slumped down on her seat. It was starting all over again. The chasing, the fear, the nightmares. And it had barely been a month. Was this how her life was going to be? Constantly on the run, not being able to get close to anybody but the girls. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks again but this time she refused to let them. It was bad enough that Shikamaru saw her crying one. And it was not as if tears could change anything.

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe where Sasuke was living. He definitely didn't seem like a person who lived in luxury. But then again he was driving a Porsche. If the situation hadn't been so grim she would have made a comment about it.

He led her through the big front double doors, brushing off the butler at the entrance. The old man looked at Sakura with surprise and she wondered if it was because she was beaten up and bloody or that she was a girl.

They climbed the stairs even though she had some difficulty. He led her into a room with a big bed and a huge window and told her to stay there before disappearing. Sakura looked around a bit while waiting for him. The walls were dark, almost black, and so were the curtains and bed sheets. There was a huge mahogany desk on the right with some books scattered over it. There were some clothes left in a small pile on one of the chairs.

This was his room, she was sure. It even smelled like him. Considering the whole mansion, this room was average except for the huge desk. Nothing too fancy or extravagant. Just Sasuke. His signature was all over the place. And all this made Sakura feel safer than ever. Nothing could harm her here. Nobody could reach her.

Suddenly, she wanted to stay here forever which was ridiculous considering that Sasuke and her barely stood each other. Hell, an hour ago they were bickering in class. And she couldn't say she actually tried to be nice to him. Actually, they were both so hostile to each other that they hadn't actually gotten to know one another.

Sasuke came back with alcohol and some bandages. He put them on the bedside table and kneeled in front of her. From her position on the bed she could see only the top of his head as he inspected a wound on her knee.

"Do you remember clearly what happened in the alley? Any blackouts?" he asked without looking away from the injury.

"No," she answered and then hissed when he touched the wound with an alcohol soaked cloth. He waited for a second before doing it again. This continued until the wound was clean. Taking some bandages from the bedside table, he started wrapping them around her knee. Sakura could feel his fingers going from the back of her knee to the front and then again on the back. She wasn't going to lie to herself and say it didn't feel nice. Actually, it felt too nice. He cheeks were starting to burn and her breaths were becoming shallow.

When he was finished, she was ready to melt. It was time to put an end to this.

"Thank you," she tried to be polite despite her current state. "I'll do the rest from here."

"The bathroom is on the other side of the house and I don't exactly carry around a mirror with me."

He was kidding. Surely this huge house had more than one bathroom. There was no way he was crossing the whole house every morning and evening just to get to the bathroom. Judging by the mansion this room had to have its own.

He didn't say anything else as he poured alcohol on a new cloth and stood up to sit on the bed. Panicked, Sakura tried to move away but the pain in her sides, although fading, still prevented her to do so. He acted as if he didn't notice and placed the cloth to her forehead. Sakura cringed but this time he didn't move the cloth away.

When Sakura got used to the stinging, she opened her eyes and looked at his face. Sasuke wasn't looking at her face. His eyes were trained on her forehead and suddenly she felt like she was eight again and self-conscious about her forehead. But Sasuke didn't say anything about it nor did he look at her face. So she used this moment to actually look at him.

He was beautiful alright. She never really paid enough attention to his features but they were perfect. The blackest hair and eyes, fait skin and perfect eyebrows, aristocratic nose a nice full lips. He was indeed perfect. No wonder all those girls followed him around. If all those thing hadn't happened to her, she might have been one of them.

Suddenly a though hit her. Did Kimimaro see his face? What if he had? He was certainly going to go after him now. And why wasn't Sasuke asking anything? Just a day ago he was so curious and bent to know what was going on.

Frowning, Sakura spoke up, "Aren't you going to ask?"

Sasuke looked at her face now, "I told you. You are going to do it on your own."

Somehow Sakura didn't doubt that so much now.

* * *

A/N: R&R Please. I was good and updated quickly. And there were a lot of SasuSaku moments.


	10. Chapter 10: Reveal

**You Only Live Twice**

_Chapter __10: Reveal_

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. - Ellen Glasgow

* * *

Temari and Shikamaru were first to come to the house. As soon as they passed the front steps, Sakura came out and went straight for Temari. As the girls hugged and talked all in a rush, both Shikamaru and Sasuke noticed they were shaking and on the verge of tears.

Not long after Temari's arrival, the others came in Neji's car. Sakura frowned at that. It would have been better if he hadn't come but she guessed he had the right. He was Hinata's cousin after all.

The girls all embraced again and started talking while the guys just stood and watched. As Sakura filled them in on what was going on, the boys watched as their faces paled and their eyes filled with tears. But none of them cried.

When the girls settled down a bit, Sasuke showed them into the house and led them to a room on the first floor. Sakura found it odd that he had taken her to his room while he had a perfectly suitable room on the first floor.

It was spacious, though. As expected from a huge mansion like that one. There was a sofa and armchairs around a glass table. A huge TV was on the opposite wall as well as a fireplace underneath it. It was probably one of the living rooms.

The girls all huddled on the sofa while the guys just found their places around the room. Naruto settled on an armchair situated on the left of the couch, as close to Hinata as possible without being suspicious. Neji went to check the windows and stayed there, occasionally glancing outside. Shikamaru sprawled on an armchair near the fireplace and looked like he was about to fall asleep. Seriously, Temari thought, nothing fazed that guy. Sai leaned against the wall near the fireplace while Sasuke just paced around.

The silence stretched between them for a minute. Then another one. And another one. In the end Neji's nerves were first to snap, "I haven't come here to listen to the silence. I could have done this in my apartment."

"Then you should go there since this isn't going to change," Tenten snapped back at him. The two exchanged glares before Naruto piped in, "Hey, no bickering! The last thing we want now is the two of you fighting. Right now the most important thing is finding out how Sakura got those bruises."

The girls had asked Sakura about the wounds already but it was when the guys weren't paying attention. Sakura had explained a bit about what had happened but telling the story in front of the guys was another story. If she told them that a guy tried to kill her in one of the alleys in the parking lot, more questions would rise. And those questions she couldn't answer although she felt that at least Sasuke had the right to know. After all, he had saved her by risking his own life and unknowingly gotten himself in a lot of trouble. But if he knew, the other guys would eventually find out as well.

As Sakura didn't answer or look at Naruto, Sasuke decided to speak instead of her.

"I don't know the beginning but I'll tell you what I saw," he began, not paying attention to Sakura whose head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Not bothered by her glare, he continued, "A guy, I assume is this Kimimaro guy we-"

Sakura stood up, eyes and mouth wide open, "What the hell are you saying? How do you know that name?"

She looked at the other guys who seemed to know the name as well. This was worse than she expected. Exactly how much did these boys know already?

Sasuke continued speaking as he went to one of the drawers on the desk at the corner of the room, "The guy was chasing her through the parking lot and I saw Sakura going into an alley that was a dead end. He went right after her and I ran out of the school to see what's going out. When I reached them she was already on the ground and he had hit her numerous times. He was pointing a gun at her and was ready to shoot her. I had little time to act but I guess the training my father gave me finally paid out."

Training? His father? Sakura racked her brain to remember the things she had learned about his family while hearing the gossips at school. His mother was a former model who had chosen to be a housewife and mother instead of being a famous celebrity. She was still popular even though she had long given up on modeling. His brother was studying business in some university she could not remember. And his father was a cop. But not just a regular one. He was a chief. Which made the situation even worse because the police here may be working for Kimimaro's family like the police in Suna did. But apparently Sasuke's father had made sure to teach his son to defend himself. And he had taught him well.

"The rest you already know," finished Sasuke as he pulled something out of the drawer and gave it to Sakura. She took it, looking questioningly at him. But soon the confusion disappeared because she recognized the object in her hands. And so did the other girls.

Ino spoke the question that was inside each of their heads, "Where did you get this camera? I thought I lost it that night…"

She stopped herself before saying anything else. Sakura didn't play the video for she knew all too well which one was on the DVD. She just had no idea where had the guys found this. She didn't remember what had happened to the camera on that night because everything had happened so fast. The last thing she was thinking about back then was taking videos or pictures.

Even though she couldn't comprehend how this camera had gotten into the hands of Sasuke, someone else could.

"You went through our place at my house, didn't you?" said Hinata with her gentle voice. "The only reason you agreed to take Hanabi home was so that you could check if there is something you could find out about us."

The guys looked mildly surprised at how easily Hinata had figured it out. And now that Sakura thought about it, it did make sense. Neji had taken the other guys with him and while he had been with her father, the others could roam freely inside the Hyuuga mansion without being bothered.

Sakura wanted to kick herself for not foreseeing this. It was the perfect opening for them. Right about now, she wanted to find Hanabi and shake that little evil creature until her head fell off. Sakura had never thought that deep inside she was a child abuser.

"Did you take anything else?" asked Tenten looking suspiciously at the group.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Although everything was a mess, it was obvious that the maids or your father had taken some things. Only some pictures and clothes were left scattered everywhere. Apparently nobody noticed the camera because it was under the couch."

"So what? You went through all our stuff? Without asking for permission?"

Sasuke shrugged absently, "Yeah."

Sakura's blood boiled. She was sure the other girls were fuming as well. Just the way he said it was infuriating. Who was he to go through their things in their home (actually it was Hinata's and Neji's but they had slept over so many times that the Hyuuga mansion became just like home)? And he didn't feel at least guilty about it. Sakura wanted to punch his beautiful face. She mentally cringed at the thought 'beautiful'. Now was not the time to feel attracted to Sasuke.

"And now we want to know the whole story. The clip was stopped abruptly by someone shouting so I conclude that something big happened afterwards." said Shikamaru. He got only glares from the girls and silence.

A few minutes passed like that. Intense stares and silence. To the point it became spooky.

"If I tell you, you'll all die," whispered Temari . It was said so quietly that it sounded like leaves moving in the wind. It only made the statement even more terrifying.

The other girls looked at her with wide surprised eyes. The boys were surprised as well that Temari cracked a little bit since she looked and acted like the tough one in the group. Shikamaru suspected that she was far more fragile than anybody thought. Even more now that he had seen her break down.

"What are you talking about?" asked Neji who had moved nearer the couch where Naruto sat.

"I'm saying that if you try to find out what happened or if we told you, you'll die. Just like we will."

"Elaborate."

"Are you an idiot? Didn't you hear what I just told you?"

Neji started walking again. His face ended up mere inches away from Temari's. When he spoke, his voice was icy and threatening, "I hear you perfectly. But seeing as Sasuke helped Sakura and is probably in this already, I think he deserves to know. I was ordered to protect Hinata. Explain to me how that hell can I do that if you won't cooperate."

When Temari didn't say anything else, Hinata stood up. Her face had an icy expression just like Neji's. She pulled her cousin away from Temari so that he could face her. The height difference was big but that didn't stop Hinata from glaring at him.

"I am not a little girl anymore. I've seen too many things in life to be considered one." Her voice was strong, nothing like the gentle one she used when talking to her friends, "You can forget about the orders from my father. Actually, I didn't think my father's wishes meant anything to you. After all, you left our family long ago."

It was true. Neji had left Suna when he was just six to live with some other relatives because of an unfortunate event that had his own father killed. His and Hinata's father were identical twins. But unlike Hinata's father, Neji's wasn't a businessman. He had chosen to be his brother's shadow and bodyguard. He was mistaken by assassins for his brother and killed while having lunch with a colleague. Neji was left an orphan. Feeling bitter, he had left to live with his aunt on his mother's side. When he reached sixteen he moved out to live on his own. Although he kept in touch with his uncle Neji rarely came back to Suna. That's why the girls had never seen him before.

"I may have left the mansion but I am still part of the family. And it is my responsibility to look after you like my father looked after yours."

Hinata shook her head, "You know I don't want that from you. I don't care what the rules of our family are. I won't force anything on you if you don't want it."

"I want it," was his quiet answer. It shocked not only her but the others as well. "It's my father's legacy. He was the bodyguard of the head of the family. I am to be the bodyguard of the next."

That shut her up. She couldn't deny his wishes to inherit his father's trade. And he too knew that.

"So, what's the story? Let's hear all of it."

Hinata looked at Temari apologetically. Since Sasuke was already in trouble for helping Sakura it was only fair he knew what was going on. Neji had the right to know as he was to protect her. The other guys would find out about it eventually.

Sakura sighed and started talking before Temari did. "Are you sure nobody's listening?" she asked Sasuke. He went to the double doors and ordered a maid nearby not to disturb them before closing them.

When he returned he looked at her expectantly. He really was a man of few words.

"Ever since Temari's father won his first elections for mayor, his opponent Shiro Kaguya has tried to take over his post. For two mandates he had tried to take over the mayor position from her father."

Naruto interrupted. "Your father was the mayor?" he asked looking at Temari with disbelief.

"Yes, he _was,"_ answered Sakura instead and went on with the story," He was the mayor until one night he was brutally killed in his office while working late."

"I hear about that on the news." nodded Shikamaru, suddenly recalling discussing the events with his father. He had said good people always went first.

"Well, Temari saw it with her own eyes."

Silence stretched between them. Information like this required some time to sink in. In the end Neji was the one who spoke up, "You saw the murder of your own father?"

He couldn't imagine what that might feel like. His own father was killed as well but he hadn't witnessed it. He could imagine the pain of seeing your own father die.

"I did," said Temari after a few moments of silence. "But I wish I couldn't."

"What exactly did you see?" asked Shikamaru but soon realized what he had asked and hastily added, "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

She glared at him, "I don't have to tell you anything but here I am telling you the story of my life." The she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I was helping my father that night because the elections were soon coming. This was the last year he was going to run for the job so he wanted to make an impression although the people loved him already. He sent me to find some papers from his previous elections. When I returned I heard voices coming from his office. The doors were opened so I could see what's going on. There was some shouting and I was ready to call the security when I heard a gunshot and my father's blood on the window behind him. I let out a shout of horror and they heard me. Until then I hadn't seen their faces. But when they heard me scream I saw all of them. Shiro Kaguya was standing behind his son, Kimimaro, who held the gun. Whit them was another guy whose name I found out later was Kazuma Watanabe."

Sasuke's head shot up immediately, "Wait, did you say Watanabe?"

Temari nodded, "Yes, it was the first time I saw him. Do you know him?"

Sasuke frowned, "Not really but I know someone with that name. You know her as well."

"What are you talking about? I spent weeks trying to find his name. It is as if he doesn't exist."

Sasuke shook his head, "Karin's last name is Watanabe."

* * *

**A/N:** _Finally updated and gave you something juicy. Hope you liked it and I hope I'll be able to post soon. But don't hold your breath. I'm moving out of home for university which is another friggin' country. Talk about stress. :I_


	11. Chapter 11: Change

**You Only Live Twice**

Chapter 11: Change

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France

* * *

Sakura sighed as she hung up her cell. She had just finished talking to Sasori. When her brother had heard what had happened, he demanded she came to the coffee shop he worked at. She had declined, saying that it wasn't safe enough and that he shouldn't go home either. As for her, she told him that she would stay with Sasuke. When Sasori opposed she had reminded him that his friend Itachi lived in the same place.

She had to admit she wasn't hot about the idea. Sasuke was a person she could not understand. Most of the time he brooded, even though he seemed to have the perfect life. He was mean with his friends yet they stayed by his side. She was confused as to how to behave around him. Should she smile when she sees him, should she even greet him, and if yes how? Should she touch his arm if she wanted his attention? Should she hug him if he needed comfort…?

Sakura violently shook her head in attempt to stop her train of thought. This wasn't the time to think like that. Not when she was far from the girls…

After much discussion, it was agreed that it was better if the girls were separated until they can figure what to do. Sakura could stay with Sasuke, while Hinata went along with Neji. Naruto agreed to take Tenten even though she threatened to kill him in his sleep. Temari left with Shikamaru with no arguments, unlike Ino who protested even when she was already in Sai's car.

Sakura sighed yet again and plopped down on her new bed. Wincing, she cursed herself for forgetting about her sore ribs. Sasuke had gone about half an hour ago to collect her stuff and she was left in her new room to… do nothing. Sighing yet again, Sakura looked around. This room was bigger than her own. It had huge windows with dark curtains, a huge plasma TV that emerged from the wall, a couch with a small glass table and after climbing a few steps, a huge bed was waiting for her. But the best part was the walk in closet and her very own bathroom. Even though she couldn't fill it, she had always wanted one. Sasuke's mother probably needed a few of those.

A knock on the door pulled Sakura out of her thoughts. Finally, Sasuke was here with her things.

"Come in," she called. It was definitely not Sasuke.

"Sorry to disturb you, dear." It was a beautiful woman no older than 40 with raven black hair and eyes. It was evident where Sasuke took his looks. His mother was stunning. And Sakura could only stare in awe.

"I just wanted to introduce myself," she continued. "My name is Mikoto, I'm Sasuke's mom." She said with a smile as she closed the door behind her. "I heard from Sasuke what happened."

Sakura froze. Surely he couldn't have told his mother.

"I'm so sorry that your house burned down. But I am glad Sasuke was near enough to save you."

Sakura almost scowled. Did he now…

Putting on a fake smile Sakura spoke up, "Yes, I was very lucky to have him around that time. I could have been in a far worse state."

Mikoto smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "That's my boy. He's always taking care of others."

Were they talking about the same person? Sasuke always caring?

Mikoto waved her hand in front of her face, "Never mind me. I just came to tell you that you are welcome to stay for as long as you want. I am glad that Sasuke has finally brought a girl here. I was starting to worry."

Sakura paled and then turned twelve shades of red, "Wait, we are not…He is not… I'm just…"

Mikoto laughed and put a hand on her shoulder, "I know dear. Don't worry. Everything comes with time. Sasuke is not an easy person and from what I can tell you are the same." She sighed and turned towards the door. "Well, I leave you to rest now. If you need anything let me know."

"Thank you," called Sakura before the woman smiled and closed the door.

Well, that was weird. But she had to admit his mom was a very sweet woman. His father must be special to have won her.

Half an hour later, there was another knock on the door. This time it was Sasuke. He had a huge bag in his hand which he threw on the bed.

"Thanks," she said when he turned to leave. "Was there anything unusual in the house?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never been there before." He answered without turning.

"Were my brother and Deidara there?" She kept asking. As if she was trying to do anything to make him stay. Which was ridiculous…

"No."

When he was at the door she was already desperate, "Thank you for your hospitality….and for saving my life. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

He stopped with his hand on the door handle and stood there for a few moments. Then he turned the knob and said, "Don't worry about anything. Get some rest. You are safe here."

"I really don't understand you," she called as he started to shut the door behind him.

He stopped and turned his face to her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you barely talk to me and yet you let me live in your house even though you know it might put your parents in ?"

Sasuke sighed and came back in the room. After shutting the door softly he climbed the stairs to the bed and sat down next to her. "My father isn't the nicest person in the world and he rarely had time for the family but he took his time teaching me something."

"What is that?"

"Justice will come only to those who seek it."

* * *

Ino sighed as she put the last of her clothes in the wardrobe. She was welcomed warmly by Sai's aunt, who was an elderly woman with grayish hair and friendly smile. The room she was given was small, but very homey: a single bed, a desk and a wardrobe. Sai's aunt had mentioned belonging to her other nephew but he had recently moved out to his own apartment.

Ino was grateful to the woman for her hospitality but she didn't want to be there. Not after what had happened between Sai and her. He pretended as if nothing happened but she couldn't do the same. Not when every time she thought about it, her insides leaped and her heartbeat raced in her chest.

She was grateful when a knock pulled her out of her thoughts. But when she saw who was at the door she regretted it immediately.

"Have you settled yet?" he asked in his soft yet emotionless voice of his. His polite smile made her want to slap him across the face and hug him tightly at the same time. "Almost. Thank you for letting me stay here."

Her answer was automatic. This was what she was supposed to say. In order to be polite.

"No worries. Nobody uses this room anymore since my cousin moved out."

Before she could stop herself, she asked, "Why did he leave?" If she could only slap herself right now…She didn't want to know his story.

"He wanted to relive our aunt. Taking care of two boys is not that easy and she is not in great health."

"What about your parents?" she asked.

"Don't know them. My parents, my aunt and my uncle died in a car crash when we were both one."

Ino stopped hanging her clothes and turned to him. She didn't expect an answer like that. How was she supposed to hate him after he said that? "I so sorry."

Sai waved his hand, "I don't dwell on it much. My aunt is all I have now and I want to take care of her."

Ino turned back to her task, "I'll make sure I don't stay long. I don't want to burden your aunt."

Sai smiled again, "She is delighted to have you here. She's been missing my cousin so much. I hope having you here will cheer her up."

She said nothing. He shouldn't be nice to her. He shouldn't be telling her his story. He shouldn't be making her feel sympathetic towards him. She should hate him. She shouldn't be even talking to him.

"Ino," he said and his time his tone was serious. She could tell his polite smile was gone. "I sorry about what happened-"

"I would appreciate if you didn't bring that up," she said as she turned to face him. "I would also appreciate it if we talked only when necessary. I'm thankful to your aunt but don't think anything's going to change between us."

With that she shoved him out of the room and slammed the door in his face. Leaning against the door, she sighed and slid down. There was a soft knock before Sai's voice came through the door, "Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

After that she could only hear his retreating steps.

* * *

"Here's your room," said Shikamaru as he dumped a huge bag on the single bed. "It's nothing fancy but you still have your essentials."

Temari nodded as she looked around. A small cozy room with two windows, a bed, wardrobe and desk. Nothing fancy indeed. "Thank you."

"No problem." He answered. "I'll leave you settle down. My dad is still at work but you'll get to meet him at dinner. He's always there or my mom will have his head for dinner." He meant to make a joke but he soon realized that Temari had probably seen similar visuals. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it."

Shikamaru frowned. She sure was a tough girl but even she couldn't handle everything. And even if she tried, all those feelings would build up…and eventually explode. In other words, drive her completely insane. "You don't have to act tough if front of me. I've seen you cry already."

She stopped unpacking and turned to glare at him, "You still don't take this seriously, do you?" When he didn't respond and continued looking impassive she exploded, "You can get killed any minute, along with me. Keeping me here will probably endanger your parents! Hell, even your neighbors! This is not a joke!"

"I know," he answered simply. Which naturally made her angrier. She threw at him the first thing she got her hands on. It turned out to be a towel and it smacked him right in the face. That made her feel a little bit better.

Shikamaru took the fluffy towel off his face and threw it on the bed behind her. "You aren't angry about my indifference right now. Tell me what it is."

Temari let out a dry laugh, "Oh, so now you are here to comfort me and make me feel better about myself. Look, don't you have anything better to do that bug me?"

Sighing, Shikamaru walked passed her and sat on the bed, "Not really. Now tell me."

Temari still stood facing the door where he had been previously standing. Her shoulders tensed and for a second Shikamaru thought she was going to turn around and punch him. But he wasn't ready for what he was when she turned to face him.

The sadness in her face broke his heart. He had never seen such an expression on anybody. A look of complete desperation, anguish and disappointment. Her voice trebled as she spoke, "I promised myself that I wouldn't drag anyone else in this mess. And today I dragged the five of you in. My friends can't have a normal life because of me. My father is dead. I have no home. Tell me how am I supposed to deal with all of this?"

Shikamaru stayed frozen for a few seconds just trying to take everything in. He was known as a genius and he usually had answers to everything. The answer he gave her was unusual for him. He usually did everything to stay out of trouble but this time the answer went against everything he believed in.

"You are supposed to fight."

* * *

Hinata gazed at the setting sun from Neji's balcony. She had just finished settling in her room (which was previously Neji's). He had a small apartment with one bedroom so he was to sleep on the couch for an unknown amount of time. When she asked him why he hadn't asked her father for help he had just brushed it off saying that this was more than fine. The neighborhood wasn't the best but she could guess Neji managed just fine on his own. After all he was well trained to protect her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Hinata froze on hearing Naruto's husky voice. She had almost forgotten that he lived in the same building as Neji and she certainly didn't expect him to pop out in the net balcony. She turned her head slightly to the side to look at him from the corner of her eyes. He was as usually grinning at her, which made her heart flutter and her face go red. Images from the night at Karin's party came flashing as her blush deepened further. She tried to calm herself by repeating in her mind that he was drunk and didn't remember anything.

"Trying to catch some fresh air I guess?" he prompted and she realized she'd never answered his question. He probably thought she was a stuck up rich girl.

"The view isn't the best and in a few minutes the neighbors are going to start fighting but it still isn't that bad…" he continued, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's quite nice," she answered finally although it was barely above a whisper. Still he had heard it because he smiled brightly and looked at the horizon.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you," he said after a few minutes in silence.

Hinata shook her head, "There is nothing we can do about it now."

Naruto frowned, "Of course you can do something about it! Sure you can't bring back Temari's father but you can still bring the criminal to justice. What you can do is fight. Don't run."

Hinata gave him a small smile, "You sound awfully lot like my sister's boyfriend." Konohamuru would have told her the same and even give her a few ideas.

Naruto looked confused at first but didn't say anything. Silence engulfed them again for a few minutes.

"Is that why you ran away from me?" he asked quietly without looking at her.

"What?" her head snapped towards him so fast she could have gotten a whiplash.

"The night at the party when I kissed you and you ran away. You were afraid I'd get hurt? Or I just creeped you out?"

Suddenly, Hinata couldn't breathe. He remembered. All this time he's been pretending. Her chest became tighter and she felt light headed. She knew she had to get away before she fainted.

"I have to go back inside." She whispered and turned to slide the door open.

"If it's the former, I'm willing to take the risk."

The door slid shut.

* * *

Tenten expected her work with her new room with mild satisfaction. She had just finished arranging her clothes when her stomach growled. She realized had taken her almost four hours to clean up the abandoned room Naruto had given her. But the final result was satisfactory. It wasn't anywhere near her old one but it sufficed.

She rummaged through the refrigerator in the hopes of finding something to eat but found nothing. She wondered what Naruto and his dad ate when everything was out of date or already rotting. So now she was stuck in this apartment to die out of hunger.

She could ask him to go to the shop but he wasn't in his room. She briefly wondered where he had gone off to but quickly brushed it off. She didn't expect him to babysit her 24/7. In fact she didn't need him to go to the supermarket. She was perfectly capable of doing it herself. She had seen one a block away. What could possibly happen to her if she went one block away even if it was already dark?

Nodding to herself she slipped on her boots and jacket took some money out of her wallet. Feeling almost proud she exited the apartment and went down the stairs. When she came outside she shivered. It was kind of cold, she amended. Now that she could walk outside she could really tell this wasn't a very nice neighborhood. It was barely lit and she could hear someone fighting in an alley as she passed. Maybe going out wasn't such a good idea.

She started walking faster and looked from left to right frantically. Mentally she cursed her stupidity. If Kimimaro popped out of nowhere pointing a gun in her face-

"What are you doing outside?"

Tenten screamed. She turned around and without thinking punched the stranger square in the nose. He cried out and stumbled back a few steps. "What the hell?"

Tenten paled. It wasn't Kimimaro. It was far worse. It was Neji.

"Oh my god…" she whispered slowly. She watched in horror as he removed his hand form his nose to see it a bloody.

"You broke my nose!" he exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You scared me!"

"So you decide to break my nose?"

"I was spooked out."

"Then you shouldn't have gone out!"

"I was hungry!"

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"I'm not a baby!"

"But you are in danger!"

By the time they stopped screaming at each other a crowd had gathered. Neji scoffed, "Great, now you announced to the whole neighborhood you are here."

"Oh, if I recall correctly, you screamed as much as me."

"Yes but this is my neighborhood. People know me."

"Are you going to stand here screaming at me or are we going to the hospital to fix your nose. Do you want a hunch on your nose?"

Fifteen minutes later, Tenten watched as the doctor put bandages on Neji's nose. She had to admit, he looked ridiculous.

"Tell me again," said the doctor. "How did this happen?"

Neji scoffed and looked at her from the corner of his eye, "A screaming lunatic punched me."

Tenten scoffed right back at him. Sure, she felt guilty but that didn't give him the right to call her names.

When the doctor was all done he ushered them to the reception to fill in some documents before going home. While in the middle of waiting for him to finish, Tenten remembered something, "You left Hinata alone?"

Neji looked up from the papers with an annoyed look on his face (the bandage made him look kind of funny when he did that), "No, she is with Naruto."

"He was gone when I left."

Neji sighed, "He is usually at the rooftop at that time of the night. He came to tell me you were gone. You could have written a not or something. He was totally freaked out."

"Oh…right." God, he was good at making her feel guilty. Poor Naruto. He probably had a heart attack, "So you went out to search for me?"

He went back to his paperwork without answering her question.

Tenten smiled. Silence usually meant yes.

* * *

**A/N**_**:**__ Yeah, I updated! I never thought I would write again, seriously. I moved to study in another country and assignments started raining over me. But I had this night off and decided to update. Don't know when this will happen again though. Even now an essay is waiting to be written _

_This was more of a filler chapter but it was still imortant. The girls need some help in order to stop feeling sorry for each other. There wasn't much of Sasusaku but I don't want to rush it. So you just have to bear with me :)_

_Anyways, you know the drill. Reviews inspire me :P So help an essay-writing soul._


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